What would Amendment H do to South Dakota’s primary elections?

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Come Tuesday, voters could decide to change the way South Dakota does primary elections.

Amendment H would allow for a top-two open primary system. 

Right now, when South Dakota voters head to the polls to vote in a primary election there are two different ballots.

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One for Republicans and a second for Democrats, Independents and voters without a political affiliation.

The top Republican and Democrat in each race moves on to the general election.

If Amendment H passes, there would be one primary ballot available to all voters. The top two candidates from this primary, regardless of party, would advance to the general election. 

Be informed on the seven 2024 ballot measures

Amendment E

Amendment F

Amendment G

Amendment H

IM 28

IM 29

Referred Law 21

Joe Kirby, the chairman of South Dakota Open Primaries, helped get Amendment H on the ballot. 

“We think our closed primaries system, which worked OK when we had a two party state, now doesn’t work so well when we’re a one party state,” Kirby said.

According to Kirby, Amendment H will give independent voters a fair shake.

“The main advantage is fairness. This would allow 155,000 independent South Dakota voters to have a meaningful role in the primary election process. Right now, the only election that matters in South Dakota is the Republican primary, and half the voters in the state don’t participate in that, which means a lot of our elected officials are put into office with only half of us deciding who is going to be elected,” Kirby said.

Ezra Hays is the committee chair for “Vote No on Amendment H.” 

“Independents are some of our biggest donors. So they’re using this campaign to say, ‘Well, 150,000 independent voters don’t have a choice. Well, they’re not all telling me that,'” Hays said.

Hays also believes that Amendment H puts voters at a disadvantage. 

“The Democrat Party, the Republican Party, the Libertarian Party, they’re all against it. And we don’t want to muddy the waters. We want lines because what voters want from each side of the aisle is they want to be able to vote their values. And Amendment H takes that away from voters,” Hays said.

Washington and California have a top-two primary election system. Nebraska has one as well, but they use it for their state legislative elections.