2-1-18. Court challenge to petition.
Nothing in §§2-1-15 to 2-1-18, inclusive, prohibits any interested person who has researched the signatures contained on a validated petition from challenging in circuit court the validity of any signature, the veracity of the petition circulator's attestation, or any other information required on a petition by statute or administrative rule, including any deficiency that is prohibited from challenge under §2-1-17.1. The results of the process of signature verification by the Office of the Secretary of State under chapter 2-1 shall be presumed valid as applied to all signatures for purposes of considering any additional ground for disqualifying petition signatures, including any ground listed in subdivisions 2-1-17.1(1) to 2-1-17.1(4), inclusive, and cumulating total valid signatures to determine the results of an appeal under §2-1-17.1. The summons and complaint for a challenge under this section shall be served on each petition sponsor as a party defending the validated petition being challenged. Any appearance by the attorney general at a challenge under this section shall be limited to the process of signature verification by the Office of the Secretary of State under chapter 2-1. For purposes of determining whether a sufficient number of valid signatures has been submitted, the interested person may elect to proceed with a challenge limited to the sample generated in accordance with §2-1-16, with the resulting valid sample percentage applied to the entirety of the petition signatures.
Source: SL 2007, ch 16, §4; SL 2017, ch 12, §2; SL 2018, ch 24, §2; SL 2019, ch 15, §3.
Structure South Dakota Codified Laws
Title 2 - Legislature and Statutes
Chapter 01 - Initiative And Referendum
Section 2-1-1 - Initiative petitions--Number of signatures required.
Section 2-1-1.1 - Initiated constitutional amendment--Petition--Contents--Signatures and filing.
Section 2-1-1.2 - Initiated measure--Petition--Contents--Signatures and filing.
Section 2-1-1.3 - Definitions.
Section 2-1-1.6 - Paid circulators--Directory.
Section 2-1-1.7 - Registration fees.
Section 2-1-1.8 - Identification number and badge.
Section 2-1-1.9 - Paid circulator badge--Requirement--Violation as misdemeanor.
Section 2-1-2.2 - Withdrawal of initiated constitutional amendment.
Section 2-1-2.3 - Withdrawal of initiated measure.
Section 2-1-3 - Referendum--Laws subject to petition--Form.
Section 2-1-3.1 - Referred law--Petition--Contents--Signatures and filing.
Section 2-1-3.2 - Withdrawal of petition for referred law.
Section 2-1-5 - Total vote used to determine number of signers required in petitions.
Section 2-1-6 - Persons qualified to sign petitions--False or unqualified signing as misdemeanor.
Section 2-1-7 - Petitions to be signed in person.
Section 2-1-9 - Separate papers constituting single petition.
Section 2-1-10 - Verification of petition circulator--Violation as misdemeanor.
Section 2-1-11 - Petitions liberally construed.
Section 2-1-11.1 - Initiated measure to embrace only one subject.
Section 2-1-12 - Effective date of measures approved by voters.
Section 2-1-14 - Signatures secured contrary to law not to be counted.
Section 2-1-16 - Signatures to be verified by random sampling--Methodology.
Section 2-1-17 - Certification of results of random sampling--Notification of petition sponsors.
Section 2-1-17.1 - Submission of affidavit challenging petition to secretary of state--Appeal.
Section 2-1-18 - Court challenge to petition.
Section 2-1-21 - Violations by petition sponsor or circulator--Four-year prohibition--Civil penalty.