Editor's note: If you cite the results of this poll, credit South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy, per copyright law and our republishing policy.
PIERRE, S.D. – A majority of South Dakotans are unhappy with democracy in America but believe state lawmakers are largely being held accountable, according to a new poll sponsored by South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota.
The survey of 500 registered voters across party affiliation conducted April 7-9 by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, ranked as one of the least-biased and most-factual pollsters by Media Bias/Fact Check, found 32% of respondents were very unsatisfied with the current state of democracy and 22% saying they were somewhat unsatisfied.
Meanwhile, 30% of those polled said they were somewhat satisfied and 14% said they were very satisfied. Roughly 3% of respondents were unsure. The margin of error is plus-or-minus 4.5%.
"Seeing a majority of South Dakotans be 'unsatisfied,' and the plurality being 'very unsatisfied' with how democracy is working in the United States is highly concerning and indicates a serious issue in our country right now," Julia Hellwege, director of the Chiesman Center and USD associate professor in political science, told News Watch.
The discontent with democracy was largely fueled by Democrats and Independents.
Three in 4 Democrats polled said they were either very or somewhat unsatisfied with the state of democracy, while 70% of Independents said they were either very or somewhat unsatisfied. On the flip side, 62% of Republicans said they were either very or somewhat satisfied.
Over the past decade, South Dakota has emerged as a reliably red state, with the late U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson being the last Democrat to hold a statewide elected office. Although South Dakota hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964 and hasn't elected a Democrat for governor since 1974, the state had elected several Democrats for Senate and the at-large U.S. House seat.
Women were also more likely than men to be unsatisfied with democracy in America.
While 57% of women said they were either very or somewhat unsatisfied, men were roughly evenly split at 49% between those that were either very or somewhat satisfied and those who were either very or somewhat unsatisfied.
The discrepancy in gender tracks similar results on the poll questions regarding voter sentiment on the job performance of statewide elected officials.
SD public officials are being held accountable, voters said
Despite their skepticism over national politics, the respondents largely believe South Dakota public officials are being held accountable to residents.
According to the poll, 45% of voters believe South Dakota public officials are somewhat accountable, with 12% saying they are very accountable.
However, as with the question on the current state of democracy, Democrats and Republicans have vastly different views on the issue.
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While 64% of Democrats believe public officials in South Dakota are either somewhat unaccountable or not accountable, 74% of Republicans believe the officials are either somewhat accountable or very accountable.
Meanwhile, 31% of Independents believe officials are not being held accountable and 19% said they were somewhat unaccountable.
Hellwege said the seemingly contradictory sentiments of feeling unsatisfied with democracy but also believing they are holding officials accountable could be down to the so-called Fenno's Paradox in which voters may have a low opinion of a legislative body but continually re-elect their representative out of a belief in their own ability to hold their elected official in check.
"In some ways, this question is more about the voters than the officials themselves. And if voters believe they are able to hold public officials at least somewhat accountable, that’s a positive for electoral democracy," Hellwege said.
Do lawmakers spend enough time on issues that matter?
Nearly half of respondents believe lawmakers either spent enough time or a great deal of time on what they thought were the most pressing issues during the legislative session that ended last month.
In total, 41% of those polled thought the South Dakota Legislature dedicated a fair amount of time to pertinent issues and 7% said a great deal of time was spent. Conversely, 25% said not much time was spent on pertinent issues and 13% said almost no time. Approximately 14% of respondents were not sure.
As with the other two survey questions, the responses varied along party lines, with a majority of Democrats and Independents believing lawmakers either spent not much time or almost no time on what they deemed to be the most important issues and a majority of Republicans believing the opposite.
Hellwege highlighted that as most Republicans continue to have a rosy picture of the current political environment, Independents are increasingly diverging from the GOP on issues and, in many cases, aligning with Democrats, which wasn't the case two years ago.
"This is interesting both because it is a divergence from the 2024 election where Independents held similar candidate and issue preferences from Republicans but also because they are in this current poll holding a clear moderate pattern that is distinguishable from both parties on certain issues," Hellwege said.
Coming Friday
Friday's story will provide a general overview of our poll results along with an explanation on the methodology.
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, donate and subscribe for free at sdnewswatch.org. Contact politics and statehouse reporter Alexander Rifaat: 605-736-4396/alexander.rifaat@sdnewswatch.org.
