Constitutional Amendment L - An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution Requiring that a Proposed Constitutional Amendment or Revision Receive an Affirmative Vote of Sixty Percent of the Votes Cast.
BALLOT LANGUAGE
WHAT IT MEANS
Yes
No
ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST
Yes
"Currently, South Dakota’s Constitution can be changed by a simple majority of votes cast. Amendment L raises that threshold to sixty percent. By contrast, the U.S. Constitution is much harder to amend. Changes to the U.S. Constitution require a 2/3 vote of the U.S. House and Senate, followed by ratification of 3/4 of the states.
Our state Constitution provides a framework of governance, while laws passed by the Legislature or by voter initiative outline policy within the framework. A simple majority works well for ordinary laws, but a higher threshold is needed for changing our Constitution, which is meant to protect core rights.
With Amendment L, only changes with broad, strong support from South Dakotans become part of our framework of governance. This doesn’t mean we can’t make changes; it simply means that our foundational document should not be subject to the political whims of a given election cycle." - John Hughes, State Representative, Dale Bartscher, South Dakota Right to Life, Nathan Sanderson, South Dakota Retailers
"Amendment L is an effort to preserve and protect South Dakota’s Constitution by ensuring that our foundational law cannot be rewritten by a fleeting 50-percent-plus-one majority.
It requires broad agreement before permanent constitutional change can occur while leaving ordinary legislation under majority rule." - We, The People, of South Dakota
“In recent years, South Dakota has become a convergence point for out-of-state interests to take advantage and exploit that simple majority and to raise large amounts of money that come from states that do not share. There is a weariness and a fatigue over the deceptive ads paid for by millions of out-of-state dollars to reshape and remold our state constitution. Those changes should be funded by people within the state; that’s how true representative republican democracy works. This doesn’t dishonor the democratic principle of initiative and referendum to raise the threshold to 60%; this is not a criticism of the way our citizens vote or what they vote for, we want the people to decide.” - John Hughes, State Representative
No
"HJR 5003 will appear on the ballot as Amendment L and will ask voters if they’d like to restrict their own power to amend the state constitution, requiring future constitutional amendments to pass by 60% of the votes rather than the current simple majority of 50% plus one.
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Amendment L would impose a tyranny of the minority in our state
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Amendment L proposes an extreme threshold compared to other states
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Amendment L’s potential passage will do nothing to limit out-of-state interests but will hamstring South Dakotans’ initiative rights
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Amendment L would fossilize our constitution
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Voters have already said “No” to increased thresholds” - No on Amendment L
"South Dakotans believe in majority rule and common sense. Amendment L would let a minority block what most voters want. That's not our way.
Don't be fooled! It's a POWER GRAB by the SD Legislature to take away your constitutional right to exercise direct democracy! Vote NO and keep power where it belongs — with the people." - L-NO
“Voters will be asked to weaken the ballot initiative process in South Dakota, they will be asked to establish a tyranny of the minority. It comes down to a more fundamental principle, what power should the South Dakota voters have over their constitution? We think that if a majority of voters want to amend their constitution, they should have the right to do so. If Amendment L takes effect and constitutional amendments require 60%, the only people who will be able to attempt them are big money out-of-state groups." - Matthew Schweich, Voter Defense Association of South Dakota
ENDORSEMENTS
Yes
Phil Jensen (Conservative)
Tim Goodwin (Conservative)
Tina L. Mulally (Conservative)
Tony Randolph (Conservative)
Taffy Howard (Conservative)
No
Jamie Smith (Liberal)
Dakotans For Health (Liberal)
Eric Emery (Liberal)
Kadyn Wittman (Liberal)
Erik Muckey (Liberal)
FINANCIAL BACKING
The following information provides insight into the money being spent to pass or defeat the ballot measure.
Yes
This question is on the ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026. As of September 7, 2026, no committee to support the amendment has been identified. Thus, there is no record of funds raised to support the amendment.
No
This question is on the ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026. As of September 7, 2026, the committees formed to oppose South Dakota Constitutional Amendment L, 60% Vote Requirement for Constitutional Amendments Measure (2026) are:
Selected contributions to "No on Amendment L" include:
As of September 7, 2026, there are no contributions to report.
Selected contributions to "L-NO" include:
As of September 7, 2026, there are no contributions to report.
OTHER INFORMATION
