(The Center Square) – South Dakotans could vote on limiting how long state lawmakers can serve in office.
The proposed Legislative Term Limits Constitutional Amendment must acquire at least 35,017 valid signatures to appear on the 2024 general ballot next year.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley released the official ballot explanation for the proposed amendment on Wednesday.
“Members of the South Dakota Legislature are limited by the State Constitution to four consecutive terms of service, or eight consecutive years, in either the House of Representatives or the Senate. Currently, a legislator can serve an indefinite number of years in the Legislature if a break in service occurs in either chamber,” Jackley said in the explanation. “The proposed amendment limits legislators to serving a lifetime total of eight years in the State House of Representatives and a total of eight years in the State Senate, or a maximum total of sixteen years.”
The amendment was submitted by Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Sioux Falls. It now goes to the secretary of state for approval.
If the proposed constitutional amendment receives enough valid signatures to be placed on the ballot, it will need a majority of votes cast to pass.
The move comes after voters in North Dakota successfully passed term limits for the office of governor and state legislators. It limits the governor and state lawmakers to serving two 4-year terms.
The idea of ensuring “valid signatures” became a point of contention and almost kept the amendment off the ballot when North Dakota’s Secretary of State “misapplied the law” and tossed out more than 15,700 signatures, according to the North Dakota Supreme Court. However, the court deemed there were more than enough valid signatures and the measure was successfully put on the ballot, receiving over 63% of the vote in favor of term limits.
South Dakotans could end up voting similarly. A related poll conducted by U.S. Term Limits in 2022 found 88% of South Dakotans surveyed would support an amendment to limit the number of terms senators and representatives can serve in the U.S. Congress.
