Proponents of a public vote on South Dakota's smoking ban say the push to remove the issue from next year's ballot isn't surprising; the petition's organizer is still confident the final decision will lie in the hands of South Dakota citizens.

Petition organizers say Thursday's challenge to keep the South Dakota smoking ban from reaching a public vote was to be expected.

"I knew that they would come up with some number that would invalidate or attempt to invalidate the petition," petition organizer Larry Mann said.

Mann says the argument can only challenge the legality of how the Secretary of State's office validated the petition once it received it, steps he believes the election office took properly.

"We've complied with the law, the Secretary of State validated the petition, he's placed the law on the ballot, I expect that's where it will stay. I think that's where it needs to stay," Mann said.

Mann says even if there are invalid signatures, there's still enough public interest in the issue to allow both sides to have their say in November 2010. That's when he believes the final decision will be made.

"I think we should vote on it. And they're certainly free to avail themselves to the law but at some point in time I think we need to just get on with it," Mann said.

Mann says ban supporters could be doing themselves more harm than good by trying to take the option to vote off the table.

"I think there is a chance for a certain backlash.  I think people protect that right to vote," Mann said.

Backlash that serves as a foundation for those who are trying to get the ban on the ballot.