require the disclosure of whether a ballot question was proposed by initiative or by the Legislature.
SB 5 requires South Dakota to clearly disclose on ballots whether a proposed constitutional amendment or law was initiated by the Legislature or by a citizen petition. The bill amends election laws to mandate that ballot titles for both types of measures must include a specific disclosure: "proposed by the Legislature" for legislative proposals, and "proposed by a citizen-initiated petition" for initiative measures. This disclosure must appear directly after the title and before the attorney general's explanation and fiscal note on the ballot. The law applies to all ballot questions submitted for voter approval, ensuring voters can immediately see the origin of each measure.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2026
Committee Review
Jan 2026
Senate Passage
Jan 2026
House Passage
Jan 2026
Signed into Law
Feb 2026
Introduced Jan 13, 2026
Signed Feb 6, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced
→
Enrolled
·
3 edits
·
Jan 28, 2026
MINOR
This bill updates South Dakota's election disclosure laws to ensure voters know whether a ballot question was proposed by the Legislature or by citizens. It mandates that the Attorney General include a specific 'source disclosure' on all ballots, alongside the explanation and fiscal note. The changes apply to both legislative amendments and citizen-initiated measures, requiring the Attorney General to prepare and post draft statements for public comment before finalizing the ballot language.
Scope change
The bill expands the scope of ballot disclosure requirements to explicitly mandate a statement identifying the origin of the measure (Legislature vs. Initiative) for all constitutional amendments and referred laws.
REQUIREMENT
Added a mandatory 'source disclosure' on ballots stating whether a measure was proposed by the Legislature or by a citizen-initiated petition.
Added specific recitation text for citizen-initiated measures instructing voters to 'Vote Yes to adopt the initiated measure' and 'Vote No to leave South Dakota law as it is'.
TIMELINE
Modified the process for citizen-initiated measures to require the Attorney General to post a draft statement for public comment and accept revisions before the final ballot language is released.
Floor votes · Senate Jan 20, 2026 · House Jan 27, 2026
How they voted
32–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 35
Jan 20, 2026
D
Democratic3
100% Yea
R
Republican32
90% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
14
Key actions
8
Committee
3
Feb 6, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 2026-02-06 S.J. 206
executive
Jan 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 185
upper
Jan 28, 2026
Upper · Passed
Signed by the President S.J. 134
upper
Jan 27, 2026
Upper · Passed
House of Representatives Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 64, NAYS 1 H.J. 157
upper
Jan 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 13, NAYS 0 H.J. 3
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Committee
Referred to House State Affairs H.J. 114
upper
Jan 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 0 S.J. 67
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, S.J. 1
upper
Jan 16, 2026
Upper · Passed
State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 8, NAYS 0 S.J. 1
upper
Jan 13, 2026
Introduced
First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 15
upper
17 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Amber Hulse
RRepublican
P
Brandon Wipf
RRepublican
P
Chris Kassin
RRepublican
P
Curt Massie
RRepublican
P
Eric Emery
DDemocratic
P
Erik Muckey
DDemocratic
P
Glen Vilhauer
RRepublican
P
Kyle Schoenfish
RRepublican
P
Larry Zikmund
RRepublican
P
Mellissa Heermann
RRepublican
P
Michael Rohl
RRepublican
P
Nicole Uhre-Balk
DDemocratic
P
Peri Pourier
RRepublican
P
Randy Deibert
RRepublican
P
Scott Moore
RRepublican
P
Tim Reed
RRepublican
P
William Shorma
RRepublican
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