There are ten issues on the South Dakota General Election Ballot this year. Pay day loans, a sub-minimum wage for teens, voter access, and tech school governance are some of the issues we are going to decide.

Here are my thoughts on three of them:

Referred Law 20

I don't want teens to have a sub minimum wage in South Dakota. So, I am voting No on Referred Law 20.  If voting on the minimum wage seems familiar to you, it is. In 2014 we voted to increase the state minimum wage for everybody. During the 2015 legislative session enough Republicans decided it was OK to change what the voters just approved, hence the sub-minimum wage for teens. In today's world a job for a teen is not a luxury. Teen jobs contribute to the family income to pay rent, buy groceries, pay the heating bill, and maybe save some for college.

Referred Law 19

Here is another example of a good idea turned ugly. I am voting No on Referred Law 19. This proposed law started off well. It was created by the State Elections Commission to fix issues of petitions, and time to protest petitions. However, the political bosses in the Republican Party changed it, and in a bad way.  They changed the requirements for Independents to get signatures to get on the ballot making the already difficult task of getting on the ballot impossible, for all practical purposes.

Amendment R to the State Constitution

I am voting Yes on this one. It settles a long running conflict/problem involving how our four Technical Schools are governed. To be responsive to rapidly changing work force needs, and to avoid unnecessary duplication, a state board will be created to watch over the schools, much like the Board of Regents oversee the operation of our State Universities. It makes sense to have a central board to operate the four tech schools.

Hope this helps you wade thru these issues. The Secretary of State has a ballot issues pamphlet on their website, covering all ten.

I will be offering my thoughts on the rest of them over the next few weeks. Contrary opinions are welcome.


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