South Dakota voters have the opportunity to protect the state Constitution this November, and it’s important to see through deceptive ads that try to say otherwise.

Several ads against Amendment L are now circulating, many of them deceptive in nature. Voters have an opportunity to entrench the South Dakota Constitution, and now is the time to act before nearly irreversible measures that threaten faith, family, and freedom, like marijuana or abortion, get written into our state’s founding document. 

The Constitution is designed to be hard to change- once something is written into our Constitution, it’s hard to get it off. We need to protect our Constitution from being used to lock in policies on issues like marijuana and abortion. 

Now is the time to stand up for South Dakota’s faith, families, and freedom before it’s too late.

What does Amendment L actually do?

Amendment L would fortify the South Dakota Constitution by requiring a 60 percent vote to change the Constitution. Currently, the Constitution is fairly simple to amend, requiring only a simple majority to alter it. By increasing to a 60 percent threshold, it would ensure that South Dakotans truly want the change, and it would make it harder for special-interest groups such as the marijuana industry to slide through and enshrine permanent changes without substantial support. 

Ronald Reagan famously pointed out that most constitutions across history have told the people with their rights are – our constitution does the opposite: it tells the government what it’s not allowed to do. 

Here in South Dakota, our constitution does the same thing: It protects our rights and reminds our state government what its limits are. 

Here’s the question – should these rights be erased easily? Or should we put safeguards on the things we have fought and bled for.  

Why Amendment L is needed

Here’s the problem – in recent years we have seen out of state groups spend millions of dollars trying to influence our South Dakota elections. This means that if someone spends enough money and tells enough lies, they could change our constitution by convincing only half of the people (+1) who go to vote.

The threshold for amending our constitution should be higher than this – a 60% benchmark allows for amendments when South Dakotan’s truly want one, while ensuring that a one-time effort from a special interest group doesn’t cause lasting harm.

Our constitution protects our rights – and it should be hard for someone to take them away.

TV ads and their deceptive nature

South Dakotans backing the “Yes” effort on proposed Constitutional Amendment L have sent a cease and desist letter to statewide media groups last week urging the immediate halt to publishing deceptive commercials funded by opponents of Amendment L.

Those against Amendment L have falsely claimed that the Yes on L effort has received its funding from “Out of state billionaires and their lobbyists” and referenced California as backing the measure. Financial disclosures filed with the South Dakota Secretary of State demonstrate that there is no funding from California billionaires involved in the pro-L cause. 

Ironically, according to public documents, the anti-Amendment L propagators have spent nearly half a million dollars to mislead voters – and we know there are hundreds of thousands coming from out-of-state organizations based in places like D.C. and Missouri that work to get abortion written into constitutions. 

“Voters deserve an open and honest debate on the merits of Amendment L,” said State Representative John Hughes of District 13, prime sponsor of the measure. “These blatant lies by anti-Amendment L activists are a desperate attempt to mislead voters, and the deceptive advertisements need to be removed from the airwaves immediately.” 

Save Our South Dakota, the committee supporting Amendment L, receives its support from South Dakota residents and groups such as Protect SD Kids, SD Family Voice, SD Retailers, and SD Right to Life. 

“Our state Constitution is a foundational document that makes South Dakota a great state, and that’s worth protecting by passing Amendment L,” Hughes added. “We are asking voters to defend against radical special interest groups who want to allow late-term abortions, take away gun rights, and legalize recreational marijuana.”