A variety of changes to South Dakota’s elections law, including stiffer requirements for independent candidates and for any candidate to withdraw from the ballot, won passage Friday from the Legislature. The House of Representatives voted 50-16 and the Senate 26-7 to approve the package. The measure, Senate Bill 69, began as proposals from new Secretary of State Shantel Krebs and the state Board of Elections to provide an earlier window for candidates to circulate nominating petitions and to provide more time for court challenges of petition signatures.
But the bill gradually gathered further changes from Republican lawmakers in the Senate and the House. By the end, most Democrats opposed it while most of the Republicans supported it.
The bill went through six versions. It now goes to Gov. Dennis Daugaard for his review and his decision whether to sign it into law.
Full Article: Lawmakers pass stiffer election laws – AberdeenNews.com: Local News.