PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Results from South Dakota’s 2020 vote on Constitutional Amendment A suggest why some lawmakers don’t see the Legislature approving adult-use marijuana this year.
There are barely enough senators and representatives from counties where voters supported it two years ago to get a simple majority. That’s if every one of the lawmakers voted for it this session.
Many lawmakers from those counties appear philosophically opposed to any type of cannabis legalization, especially in the two counties with the largest populations, Minnehaha and Pennington, which happened to be two of the places were Amendment A received the largest numbers of yes votes.
The South Dakota Supreme Court in November ruled 4-1 that Amendment A wasn’t valid because it covered more than one subject. The Legislature’s marijuana-study committee recommended a proposal to legalize marijuana for anyone age 21 and older.
But a KELOLAND News analysis that looks at legislators and the counties they represent suggests the margin for passage is thin, at best, and certainly not at the two-thirds majorities needed in the House and the Senate to override a possible veto from Governor Kristi Noem, who led the effort to overturn it in court.
It’s also why the governor can comfortably say she’ll leave the issue in lawmakers’ hands.
Amendment A received 54% support statewide, with 225,260 yes and 190,477 no. But those voters who said yes were stacked up in 25 of South Dakota’s 66 counties.
Initiated Measure 26, legalizing marijuana for medical use, meanwhile won with nearly 70% statewide, with 291,754 marking yes and 125,488 no. The yes voters won in 63 of the 66 counties. The state Department of Health has started issuing cards and dispensary sales can start when products become available this year.
The governor opposed both IM 26 and Amendment A during the 2020 campaign, but she challenged the validity of only A afterward. The 2022 session is already dominated by legislation that proposes fine-tuning the medical-cannabis program.
Meanwhile a pro-marijuana group already has a ballot measure circulating for the 2022 election that would legalize marijuana for people age 21 and older.
Here’s a look at how Amendment A fared in each county, by percentage yes and no:
Aurora 38 to 61 against
Beadle 49 to 51 against
Bennett 55 to 44 for
Bon Homme 43 to 56 against
Brookings 56 to 43 for
Brown 55 to 44 for
Brule 46 to 53 against
Buffalo 69 to 30 for
Butte 46 to 53 against
Campbell 40 to 59 against
Charles Mix 45 to 54 against
Clark 41 to 58 against
Clay 66 to 33 for
Codington 50 to 49 for
Corson 53 to 46 for
Custer 48 to 51 against
Davison 49 to 50 against
Day 48 to 51 against
Deuel 40 to 59 against
Dewey 64 to 35 for
Douglas 27 to 72 against
Edmunds 40 to 59 against
Fall River 52 to 47 for
Faulk 35 to 64 against
Grant 44 to 55 against
Gregory 39 to 60 against
Haakon 27 to 72 against
Hamlin 36 to 63 against
Hand 34 to 65 against
Hanson 45 to 54 against
Harding 31 to 68 against
Hughes 50 to 49 for
Hutchinson 34 to 65 against
Hyde 38 to 61 against
Jackson 47 to 52 against
Jerauld 39 to 60 against
Jones 36 to 63 against
Kingsbury 45 to 54 against
Lake 51 to 48 for
Lawrence 57 to 42 for
Lincoln 55 to 44 for
Lyman 50 to 49 for
Marshall 52 to 47 for
McCook 46 to 53 against
McPherson 36 to 63 against
Meade 51 to 48 for
Mellette 49 to 50 against
Miner 45 to 54 against
Minnehaha 60 to 39 for
Moody 52 to 47 for
Oglala Lakota 81 to 18 for
Pennington 58 to 41 for
Perkins 37 to 62 against
Potter 39 to 60 against
Roberts 54 to 45 for
Sanborn 46 to 53 against
Spink 43 to 56 against
Stanley 48 to 51 against
Sully 43 to 56 against
Todd 77 to 22 for
Tripp 37 to 62 against
Turner 44 to 55 against
Union 58 to 41 for
Walworth 41 to 58 against
Yankton 54 to 45 for
Ziebach 58 to 41 for
And here’s a look at those results for each of the Legislature’s 35 districts:
District 1 – Brown (for), Day (against), Marshall (for), Roberts (for). Rep. Tamara St. John, R-Sisseton. Rep. Jennifer Keintz, D-Eden. Sen. Michael Rohl, R-Aberdeen.
District 2 – Brown (for), Clark (against), Hamlin (against), Spink (against). Rep. Lana Greenfield, R-Doland. Rep. Kaleb Weis, R-Aberdeen. Sen. Brock Greenfield, R-Clark.
District 3 – Brown (for). Rep. Drew Dennert, R-Aberdeen. Rep. Carl Perry, R-Aberdeen. Sen. Al Novstrup, R-Aberdeen..
District 4 – Brookings (for), Codington (for), Deuel (against), Grant (against). Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence. Rep. John Mills, R-Volga. Sen. John Wiik, R-Big Stone City.
District 5 – Codington (for). Rep. Hugh Bartels, R-Watertown. Rep. Nancy York, R-Watertown. Sen. Lee Schoenbeck, R-Watertown.
District 6 – Lincoln (for). Rep. Aaron Aylward, R-Harrisburg. Rep. Ernie Otten, R-Tea. Sen. Herman Otten, R-Lennox.
District 7 – Brookings (for). Rep. Tim Reed, R-Brookings. Rep. Larry Tidemann, R-Brookings. Sen. V.J. Smith, R-Brookings.
District 8 – Lake (for), Miner (against), Moody (for), Sanborn (against). Rep. Randy Gross, R-Elkton. Rep. Marli Wiese, R-Madison. Sen. Casey Crabtree, R-Madison.
District 9 – Minnehaha (for). Rep. Rhonda Milstead, R-Hartford. Rep. Bethany Soye, R-Sioux Falls. Sen. Wayne Steinhauer, R-Hartford.
District 10 – Minnehaha (for). Rep. Doug Barthel, R-Sioux Falls. Rep. Steven Haugaard, R-Sioux Falls. Sen. Maggie Sutton, R-Sioux Falls.
District 11 – Minnehaha (for). Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls. Rep. Mark Willadsen, R-Sioux Falls. Sen. Jim Stalzer., R-Sioux Falls
District 12 – Lincoln (for), Minnehaha (for). Rep. Arch Beal, R-Sioux Falls. Rep. Greg Jamison, R-Sioux Falls. Sen. Blake Curd, R-Sioux Falls.
District 13 – Lincoln (for), Minnehaha (for). Rep. Sue Peterson, R-Sioux Falls. Rep. Richard Thomason, R-Sioux Falls. Sen. Jack Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls.
District 14 – Minnehaha (for). Rep. Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls. Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, R-Sioux Falls. Sen. Larry Zikmund, R-Sioux Falls.
District 15 – Minnehaha (for). Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls. Rep. Jamie Smith, D-Sioux Falls. Sen. Reynold Nesiba, D-Sioux Falls.
District 16 – Lincoln (for), Union (for). Rep. David Anderson, R-Hudson. Rep. Kevin Jensen, R-Canton. Sen. Jim Bolin, R-Canton.
District 17 – Clay (for), Turner (against). Rep. Sydney Davis, R-Burbank. Rep. Richard Vasgaard, R-Centerville. Sen. Art Rusch, R-Vermillion.
District 18 – Yankton (for). Rep. Ryan Cwach, D-Yankton. Rep. Mike Stevens, R-Yankton. Sen. Jean Hunhoff, R-Yankton.
District 19 – Bon Homme (against), Douglas (against), Hanson (against), Hutchinson (against), McCook (against). Rep. Marty Overweg, R-New Holland. Rep. Kent Peterson, R-Salem. Sen. Kyle Schoenfish, R-Scotland.
District 20 — Aurora (against), Davison (against), Jerauld (against). Rep. Lance Koth, R-Mitchell. Rep. Paul Miskimins, R-Mitchell. Sen. Joshua Klumb, R-Mitchell.
District 21 – Bon Homme (against), Charles Mix (against), Gregory (against), Tripp (against). Rep. Rocky Blare, R-Ideal. Rep. Caleb Finck, R-Tripp. Sen. Erin Tobin, R-Winner.
District 22 – Beadle (against), Kingsbury (against). Rep. Roger Chase, R-Huron. Rep. Lynn Schneider, R-Huron. Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron.
District 23 – Campbell (against), Edmunds (against), Faulk (against), Hand (against), McPherson (against), Potter (against), Spink (against), Walworth (against). Rep. Spencer Gosch, R-Glenham. Rep. Charlie Hoffman, R-Eureka. Sen. Bryan Breitling, R-Miller.
District 24 – Hughes (for), Hyde (against), Stanley (against), Sully (against). Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Pierre. Rep. Mike Weisgram, R-Fort Pierre. Sen. Mary Duvall, R-Pierre.
District 25 – Minnehaha (for). Rep. Jon Hansen, R-Dell Rapids. Rep. Tom Pischke, Sen. Marsha Symens, R-Dell Rapids.
District 26 — Brule (against), Buffalo (for), Jones (against), Lyman (for), Mellette (against), Todd (for). Sen. Troy Heinert, D-Mission.
District 26A – Mellette (against), Todd (for). Rep. Shawn Bordeaux, D-Mission.
District 26B – Brule (against), Buffalo (for), Jones (against), Lyman (for). Rep. Rebecca Reimer, R-Chamberlain.
District 27 – Bennett (for), Haakon (against), Jackson (against)`, Pennington (for), Oglala Lakota (for). Rep. Liz May, R-Kyle. Rep. Peri Pourier, D-Pine Ridge. Sen. Red Dawn Foster, D-Pine Ridge.
District 28 – Butte (against), Corson (for), Dewey (for), Harding (against), Perkins (against), Ziebach (for). Sen. Ryan Maher, R-Isabel.
District 28A – Corson (for), Dewey (for), Ziebach (for). Rep. Oren Lesmeister, D-Parade.
District 28B – Butte (against), Harding (against), Perkins (against). Rep. Sam Marty, R-Prairie City.
District 29 – Butte (against), Meade (for), Pennington (for). Rep. Kirk Chaffee, R-Whitewood. Rep. Dean Wink, R-Howes. Sen. Gary Cammack, R-Union Center.
District 30 – Custer (against), Fall River (for), Pennington (for). Rep. Tim Goodwin, R-Rapid City. Rep. Trish Ladner, R-Hot Springs. Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller, R-Rapid City.
District 31 – Lawrence (for). Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Spearfish. Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish. Sen. Timothy Johns, R-Lead.
District 32 – Pennington (for). Rep. Becky Drury, R-Rapid City. Rep. Chris Johnson, R-Rapid City. Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City.
District 33 – Meade (for), Pennington (for). Rep. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City. Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City. Sen. David Johnson, R-Rapid City.
District 34 – Pennington (for). Rep. Mike Derby, R-Rapid City. Rep. Jess Olson, R-Rapid City. Sen. Michael Diedrich, R-Rapid City.
District 35 – Pennington (for). Rep. Tina Mulally, R-Rapid City. Rep. Tony Randolph, R-Rapid City. Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City.
