An Act to require the inclusion of certain information on a candidate's nominating petition or on a ballot question petition.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:
Section 1. That § 2-1-1 be AMENDED:
2-1-1.
All measures
proposed by initiative
shall
must be
presented by petition.
The
A
petition
shall
to propose a measure by initiative must
be signed by not less than five percent of the qualified electors of
the state.
All proposals requiring that a law enacted by the Legislature be submitted to a vote of the electors of the state must be presented by petition, signed by not less than five percent of the qualified electors of the state.
When signing a petition to propose a measure or an amendment to the Constitution by initiative, or to refer a law to a vote of the electors of the state, an individual must provide the individual's name, signature, address at which the individual is currently registered to vote, the county in which the individual is registered as a voter, and the date of signing.
Section 2. That § 2-1-15 be AMENDED:
2-1-15.
Upon
the receiving of any initiative petition, referred law petition, or
initiated constitutional amendment petition
receipt of a petition to initiate an amendment to the South Dakota
Constitution, initiate a measure, or refer a law to a vote of the
electors of the state,
the secretary of state shall promptly examine and catalogue the
petition and petition signatures and make them available to the
public upon request and payment of
reasonable fees in accordance with
the fee required by
§ 1-8-10.
No
An
individual's
signature
of a person
may
not be
counted by the secretary of state
unless the person
if:
(1) The
individual
is
not a
registered voter in the county indicated on the signature line.
No signature of a person may be counted if the;
or
(2) The
information
required
provided by the individual
on the petition form is not accurate or complete.
If the address provided by the individual is not substantially the same as the address at which the individual is currently registered to vote, the secretary of state may not count the signature.
The secretary of state shall
generate the random sample under § 2-1-16
within five days of completing the examination and cataloguing of the
petition signatures and
shall
make
the random sample validation sheets
available to the public
the random sample validation sheets,
upon request and payment of
reasonable fees in accordance with
the fee required by
§ 1-8-10.
Section 3. That § 12-6-8 be AMENDED:
12-6-8.
No
person An
individual may
not sign
the nominating petition of a candidate
before:
(1) Before
January first in the year in which the election is to be held,
nor for;
(2) For
whom the person is not entitled to vote,
nor for;
(3) For
a political candidate of a party of which the person is not a member,
nor for;
or
(4) For more than the number of candidates required to be nominated for the same office.
The
signer or
circulator
or the individual who signs the petition
shall add the
signer's place of residence
address at which the individual is currently registered to vote, the
county in which the individual is registered as a voter,
and the date of signing. The signer's post office box number may be
given in lieu of a street address if the signer lives within a
municipality of the second or third class.
A
A
candidate shall sign a
formal declaration of
the candidate shall be signed by the candidate
candidacy
before the
circulation of petitions
petition may be circulated.
The signed declaration of
the candidate shall
candidacy must
accompany
and be a part of
the petition.
An
The
original signed declaration
shall
of candidacy must
accompany the
group of petitions
petition
upon filing.
The petition
shall
must be
verified under oath by the persons circulating the petition. The
verification by the person circulating the petition may not be
notarized by the candidate whom the petition is nominating. Any
person circulating a petition who falsely attests to the verification
is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
A nominating petition for any election shall be a self-contained sheet of paper in order to have the candidate's name placed on the ballot. The provisions of this section may not prohibit a person registered with party affiliation from signing either a petition nominating an independent or a nonpolitical candidate for office if the person has not previously signed a petition for that office to be filled.
Underscores indicate new language.
Overstrikes
indicate deleted language.