Change Agents spent the spring and summer hearing from advocates and opponents of the November ballot issues.  The September 11 meeting was the culmination of that time spent.  Only votes of those present were counted.  None of the ballot issues received a unanimous vote.

Also see our Endorsements on Blue Voter Guide

Change Agents endorses Amendment G – Vote YES

SD’s current abortion ban has been called the strictest and most extreme in the nation.  By a 94% majority, Change Agents believes that government has no place in limiting the freedom of women to control their own bodies.  Access to complete medical care for women/girls and not punishing medical professionals providing that care were also reasons for the support.

Change Agents endorses Amendment H – Vote YES

Only one state that adjoins South Dakota does NOT have Open Primaries, and Nebraska uses the same one proposed here.  A 94% majority of Change Agents believes that Open Primaries will increase voter turnout and cause more moderates to be elected.   And all voters will gain the freedom to vote in elections for which they already pay taxes.

Change Agents endorses Initiated Measure 29 – Vote YES

24 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana.  A 79% majority of Change Agents believes that the freedom to use marijuana recreationally increases tax revenues, job growth, and investment opportunities, and that regulation has shown that fewer teens find access to it once it is no longer a black-market item.  Our court and prison systems are filled with individuals whose only crime is possession of small amounts of marijuana.  South Dakota citizens can legally drink, possess, and make their own wine and beer.  Marijuana should receive the same treatment.

Change Agents endorses Initiated Measure 28 - Vote YES

South Dakota and Mississippi are the only states in the nation to impose their full sales tax upon grocery purchases.  The SD Retailors Association along with 30 other groups have pointed out flawed language in the ballot issue.  The wording says it “would prohibit a state sales tax on anything sold for human consumption.”  It does not specify food or food products.  This brings in tobacco and marijuana, both of which are specified as for ‘human consumption’.  This concern made the vote a close one.  60% was required to pass.  63% of those in the room wanted disadvantaged South Dakotans to get a break on food purchases, despite the questionable wording.

Change Agents endorses Amendment E – Vote YES

It is designed to remove gender-specific language in the state constitution and replace it with gender-neutral language.  It received 84% approval from Change Agents.  9 states currently use gender neutral language in their Constitutions.  This was introduced by the SD Senate in 2023, which approved it 35-0.  It passed the House 58-12.

Change Agents does NOT endorse Amendment F – Vote NO

Would amend the SD state Constitution to allow the state to impose work requirements on certain individuals who are eligible for expanded Medicaid. There was very little discussion as 84% of Change Agents rejected the idea of forcing work requirements upon those whose income is already below 138% of the federal poverty level.  This ballot issue is not the result of petition, but of votes in the SD Legislature.  Only Georgia requires this of Medicaid recipients.

Change Agents does NOT endorse Referred Law 21 - Vote NO

Change Agents supports South Dakota landowners with an 82% vote against Referred Law 21.  It began as Senate Bill 201, but 31,000 signatures later it became a ballot issue.  Hundreds of SD Landowners do not want this bill to become law because of three major reasons:

1. It would remove all decision-making power from the counties.
2. It would allow a private company to declare Eminent Domain over private land.
3. Carbon pipelines are dangerous and untested.  Previous leaks have sickened local populations.  And pipeline leaks are all too common.

And Change Agents thinks the SD legislature should not be trying to redefine Landowners rights.

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Six candidates for political office also received the official endorsement of Change Agents.   Two of the criteria Change Agents of SD consider when studying candidates are support of transparency and adherence to fact-based decision making.  We also consider incumbents' voting records.  Local elected officials are important. They have a direct daily impact on our lives.  To see the News Releases for these endorsements, go HERE.

1. Anny Libengood for Minnehaha Commission.
   We like Anny because, as an employee of the county for several years, she has worked on issues facing the poor and homeless.  She will bring a new voice and perspective to issues which are affecting all of us.  She’s a licensed Social Worker and the county’s first ever Community Services and Housing Navigator.
2. Dean Karsky for Minnehaha Commission.  We like Dean because he is practical, pragmatic, and is a calming voice in the midst of  situations that are not calm.   The current Chair of the Commission, he's running for his third term.
3. Sandra Henry for Senate 14.  Her career was in education.  She understands the vital role teachers and the education system play in raising the bar for students and therefore us.  Her opponent, the incumbent, is an election denier who signed a letter in 2020 requesting our Federal Senators not certify the election results.  He has also been on what we consider to be the wrong side on Healthcare issues affecting women and children.
4. Beverly Froslie Johnson for House District 9, whose rural nature makes the CO2 pipeline the #1 issue.  Beverly has a special needs child.  She lives with the challenges of dealing with the bureaucracies which don’t always respond to the needs of the individual.  She says we need to stop sending millions of dollars out of state for Special Needs care when we can be doing it right here.  One of her opponents was the main sponsor of the bill denying medical care to children dealing with gender  dysphoria.  Politicians should not be practicing medicine.
5. Steve Natz for Senate 11.   Natz is a respected businessman in real estate.  He knows how to put successful deals together.  This race is a stark choice.    His opponent signed onto a resolution last session wanting to ban putting Amendment G (Restore Roe) on the ballot.  No matter how you feel about the issue, the State’s motto is “Under God, the People Rule.”  The incumbent's efforts do NOT align with those words.
6. Sheryl Johnson for Congress.  She is campaigning using the tag line,“South Dakota Mom.”  She has four daughters, so many of the issues in Congress are not just academic to her.  Also, the incumbent has been on the wrong side of numerous votes:  Impeachment.  Investigations.  Funding to repair failing bridges and deteriorating roads, to name a few.

These candidates have been deemed worthy and certainly better able to fulfill the offices than their opponents.