Federal court rules SD ballot measure law curbs free speech

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld a federal judge’s decision to block parts of a South Dakota law that would have required ballot petition workers to publicly disclose their personal information.

The Republican-controlled Legislature in 2020 passed a law that would have required paid ballot measure circulators to list their personal information in a directory. The law was just one attempt by lawmakers in recent years to add barriers to ballot measures.

Circuit Judge Steven Grasz wrote in an opinion for a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals that being forced to disclose the information would be “chilling in today’s world” and the law would violate the First Amendment.

November 2, 2022