Attorney General Jackley Announces Referendum Measures Sponsors Must Be South Dakota Citizens

PIERRE, SD (Dakota News Now) – Attorney General Marty Jackley, in response to a question from the Secretary of State, announced that sponsors of referendum measures must be South Dakota citizens.

The announcement was made in a letter to the secretary of state and is based on Jackley’s interpretation of the South Dakota Constitution.

Jackley said that while there is no explicit law requiring a sponsor to be a citizen, the state constitution states that a sponsor must be reserved for “the people.”

“My interpretation is that in 1889, our founding fathers referred to ‘persons’ in our Constitution as citizens of the state of South Dakota,” Jackley said.