election 2022

A proposal to bypass the state legislature and instead use the statewide ballot process to eliminate the sales tax on groceries in South Dakota has hit an early legal snarl. But introduction of the ballot measure is providing more evidence of how citizens groups in South Dakota want to let voters -- rather than lawmakers and the governor -- decide the outcome of important issues facing the state.

Legal and grassroots efforts are continuing in South Dakota to make it easier for Native Americans to vote, including in the upcoming 2022 gubernatorial election. While history has shown that many Native voters have faced disenfranchisement, South Dakota history also shows how important the Native vote can be in close elections.

Jamie Smith: a teacher, coach, realtor, father, lawmaker -- and perhaps the next governor of South Dakota? State Rep. Smith, the Democratic nominee for governor of South Dakota, is running to unseat Republican Gov. Kristi Noem in the Nov. 8, 2022 election with a campaign focused on trust, truth and character. Running against a well-funded incumbent who has an undefeated electoral record, Smith believes he can nevertheless pull off the upset.

From state lawmaker to member of Congress to South Dakota's first female governor, Kristi Noem has experienced a steady upward trajectory in her political career. As presidential aspirations may now be in play, and as Noem fights to retain her position as governor in November, South Dakota News Watch spoke with numerous political experts and analysts to look back at the past -- and potential future -- of one the most polarizing political figures in the history of the state.

A group of conservative Republican lawmakers in South Dakota has raised questions about the validity of the state electoral process, but election officials say there is no concrete evidence of election integrity problems and are assuring voters that the Nov. 8, 2022 election in South Dakota will be accurate and valid.

Almost eight in 10 South Dakota registered voters said in a recent South Dakota News Watch poll that civility in America has gotten worse over the past five years, and only 2.6% said civility has improved. With the 2022 midterm election only weeks away, News Watch spoke to three experts on civility in South Dakota who all expressed concern but also provided hope that Americans can become more civil to one another.

A July 2022 poll of registered South Dakota voters shows a majority do not support legalization of recreational marijuana, which will be up for a statewide vote on Initiated Measure 27 in the November 2022 election. Supporters of legalization question the validity of the poll findings, which run counter to other poll results and to the result of the 2020 election in which voters approved a constitutional amendment -- later overturned in the courts -- to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use in South Dakota.

In a July 2022 statewide poll commissioned by South Dakota News Watch, a majority of registered voters opposed a total ban on abortion in the state and an even larger majority supported holding a referendum in which voters, not lawmakers, would decide on future laws regarding the procedure.