South Dakota
Amendment H: Opposing sides differ on the likely outcomes of open primaries • South Dakota Searchlight
Supporters of open primaries say shifting to a top-two primary system will whittle candidates down to those who represent a majority of South Dakota voters. But opponents argue it will limit voters’ choices each November.
Amendment H, one of seven statewide questions on South Dakotans’ Nov. 5 ballot, proposes opening up future primary elections and placing all candidates, regardless of party, on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters would advance to the general election.
Currently, only registered Republicans are allowed to vote in Republican primaries. Democrats and independents can vote in Democratic primaries.
The measure would amend the state constitution to implement the change. A “yes” vote supports replacing partisan primaries with a top-two system for all state and local offices. A “no” vote opposes the initiative and keeps South Dakota’s current primary system in place.
Sioux Falls businessman and longtime Republican Joe Kirby leads South Dakota Open Primaries. He hopes the reform increases voter turnout so independents get a “meaningful vote” and candidates change primary campaigns to appeal to all voters.
Washington became the first state to adopt a top-two primary system in 2004, but wasn’t able to implement it until 2008 due to court challenges. California adopted the system in 2010 and implemented it in 2012. Nebraska uses a top-two primary system for state legislative offices, and does not list political parties because the Legislature is nonpartisan.
Both the South Dakota Republican Party and the South Dakota Democratic Party oppose the measure. Democratic Party Executive Director Dan Ahlers said the amendment would not significantly affect voter turnout or candidate moderation.
Increasing voter turnout?
Proponents of Amendment H point to the South Dakota June 2024 primary’s 17% voter turnout — the lowest in recent history — as a reason to switch to a top-two system. In a Republican-leaning state, the primary is more important to many Republican candidates than the general election, even though about half of South Dakota registered voters can’t cast their vote in Republican primaries.
Aside from this year’s primary — which included no statewide races, one Democratic legislative primary and 44 Republican legislative primary races — voter turnout in South Dakota primaries increased over the last decade.
Kirby said a top-two primary would significantly increase voter turnout because it would allow “meaningful” primaries for non-Republican South Dakota voters.
Citing a fiscal estimate from the Legislative Research Council, Kirby said voter turnout would grow by 50,000 voters — which would have increased turnout from 17% to 25% in this year’s primary, or from 32% in 2022 to 40%.
But Ahlers said that estimate is taken out of context. The Legislative Research Council merely estimated the number of extra ballots needed for primaries, not the actual turnout.
“They always have to put a buffer number in there,” he said.
If Amendment H passes, Ahlers doesn’t expect voter turnout to increase significantly. It’s not a primary model that will draw people out to vote but rather the candidates and the issues, Ahlers said. That’s the responsibility of parties, he said, to recruit quality candidates and encourage people to vote.
Average voter turnout in Washington has been lower in some years since the adoption of open primaries, including 31% in 2014, and higher in others, including 54% in 2020. Turnout has been similarly mixed since the implementation of open primaries in California, ranging from 25% in 2014 to 48% in 2016, and never yet equaling the state’s modern, pre-open-primaries high of 58% turnout in the 2006 primary.
Michael Ritter, an assistant professor specializing in election research at Washington State University, said that “more accessible primaries” do boost primary turnout, generally. Open primary models can make voting more accessible to citizens, and it may also increase a person’s commitment to political advocacy, he said.
But, Ritter said, open primary models don’t boost turnout by 10% or more. Just by a few percentage points, or less than 5%.
“That may sound trivial, but it can be important because a lot of elections in this country are decided at the margins,” Ritter said.
Appealing to all South Dakota voters or limiting their options?
Kirby said a top-two primary system shifts away from “party control” and encourages candidates to appeal to all South Dakota voters rather than just a party.
“It’s better to empower the voters of the state,” Kirby said. “Parties will no longer be in control of elections. The voters will be.”
Ahlers said the constitutional amendment is pushed by Republicans who are “frustrated with their own party.” He said the amendment will “disenfranchise voters” because a top-two system could limit the political diversity of candidates on the general election ballot. Two Republicans could appear on the general election ballot rather than a Republican with a Democrat, Libertarian and independent.
“You hear the word ‘open’ and you think, ‘Great. An open process where everyone can participate.’ But this limits your choices. It limits the opportunity for more voices to be heard,” Ahlers said.
In California, the top-two system has motivated new kinds of political strategizing.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Schiff ignored his two Democratic opponents in this year’s primary and instead focused attention on Republican candidate Steve Garvey, even though Garvey has little chance at winning the general election in the Democratic-leaning state. That strategy helped Schiff maneuver Garvey into position as Schiff’s preferred general election opponent, a CalMatters columnist wrote earlier this year. Instead of appealing to moderate voters, Schiff made a partisan appeal to manufacture a relatively easy campaign for himself in the general election.
“Gamesmanship happens in politics,” Kirby countered. “That’s not at all a flaw in the open primary system.”
Republican Rep. Bethany Soye, of Sioux Falls, who opposed Amendment H during a recent debate at the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary, said the top-two system will make it harder for independent or “grassroots” candidates to run for office because campaigning will be more expensive. They’ll run against more opponents and have a longer campaign cycle, which will “guarantee the perpetual rule of big money” in South Dakota, Soye said.
“The general election is going to be in June and there will never be another independent candidate on the ballot in November,” Soye said.
Washington’s primary came under fire this year as a “bloody mess” because the ballot had an overwhelming number of candidates, wrote a Seattle Times columnist. There were 28 candidates listed on the ballot for governor alone.
There is no limit in Amendment H on the number of candidates that can run in a primary. Kirby said the South Dakota Legislature can address that concern if the measure passes, such as setting the number of petition signatures needed to file a candidacy at a higher level to discourage frivolous campaigns.
The potential for a legal challenge
The attorney general’s explanation of Amendment H notes that the amendment might be challenged in court, but doesn’t say why. The office did not respond to questions from South Dakota Searchlight.
Ahlers dislikes another portion of the amendment’s language, which says “a candidate may select the name of a political party to be listed next to the candidate’s name on the primary ballot.” Ahlers said that provision “encourages voter deception” by allowing candidates to identify with a party even if they aren’t registered with that party.
While candidates can already register under one party and then switch registration once elected, Ahlers said that’s harder to pull off under the current system.
Kirby said if someone is “misrepresenting themselves,” political parties and the media will hold them accountable. He said it hasn’t been an issue in other states.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Definition of a Buck Deer and Bull Elk Antler
The Commission finalized a clean-up to remove “polished antler” and replace with “antler” from the definition of a buck and bull to allow an individual to harvest a velvet antlered deer or elk.
Spring and Fall Turkey Seasons
The Commission made several changes to the spring and fall turkey seasons.
For the Spring Turkey Season, references to federal property closures were removed from administrative rule and the Day and Codington County combined unit was separated into county specific units for Day (PST-22A) and Codington (PST-05A) counties.
Changes to the Fall Turkey Season include a weapons restriction change allowing for the use of rifles or shotguns for hunting turkeys in the fall for all units, except for Minnehaha County. In addition, the changes to fall turkey unit boundaries will result in the same Spring and Fall turkey unit boundaries for all units, except for the Black Hills.
The Commission closed Bennett and Sanborn counties to spring firearm turkey hunting. The Commission closed Gregory and Mellette counties to fall turkey hunting and opened Hughes County. All spring and fall turkey hunting season unit license numbers were finalized.
Tagging and Transportation of Shooting Preserve Harvested Pheasants
The Commission adopted additional allowances for the transportation of harvested birds from a private shooting preserve directly to a lodge or cleaning facility not located on permitted acres prior to tagging. This finalization is the result of a public petition.
PROPOSALS
Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations
The Commission proposed to add golden mussels to the current list of Aquatic Invasive Species. Currently, golden mussels have established populations in western North America and are spreading east. They have similar effects as zebra mussels. They are not in South Dakota at this time.
The Commission also proposed to exclude phragmites species from types of vegetation that can be used as blind material on boats when being launched or trailered. Phragmites could be used as blind material, but cannot be transported from the waterbody.
Bait Regulations
The Commission proposed to remove the requirement to submit an annual summary of bait harvested for resident bait dealers. Resident bait dealers who trap their own bait would still be required to maintain daily records of bait trapped.
Muskellunge Limits
The Commission proposed to modify the daily and possession limit of muskellunge and northern-muskellunge (tiger) cross from catch and release to 1 daily, 2 in possession with a 45-inch minimum length limit for inland waters.
Fishing Tournaments
The Commission proposed to modify the dates when a fishing tournament cannot occur to clarify fishing tournaments cannot occur on the Friday of the 4th of July weekend, if the 4th falls on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday.
Fish Pathogens
The Commission proposed to update the list of fish pathogens of regulatory concern used for fish importation permit requirements. This change would reduce the regulatory burden on importers and suppliers by reducing the number of pathogens that must be tested for. The proposed changes reflect current fish health standards and disease risk assessments while maintaining safeguards to prevent the introduction of significant fish pathogens into South Dakota waters.
Paddlefish Transportation
The Commission proposed to modify the transportation requirements for paddlefish harvested during the archery season below Gavins Point Dam to allow for harvested paddlefish to be cleaned, including removal of the head, skin and tail, prior to transport.
Bobcat Hunting Season
The Commission proposed the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 Bobcat Hunting Season with no recommended changes to administrative rule from past years. With no changes to rule, the current season structure will be retained.
Endangered and Threatened Species
The Commission proposed to remove the Eskimo curlew and Least tern from the list of
endangered birds.
The Eskimo curlew is believed to be extinct throughout its range. The last confirmed
observation occurred in Barbados in 1963, and there are no records of the species in the South Dakota Nongame Conservation Database.
The Least tern was removed from the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species in 2021. In South Dakota, Least terns have been monitored annually for more than 30 years, and recovery criteria have been met for multiple consecutive years, including the most recent monitoring period.
Public Comments Being Accepted
To hear the discussion on these topics, audio from the meeting is available through South Dakota Public Broadcasting and will soon be available on the GFP website as part of the meeting archive.
To see these topics in their entirety, visit gfp.sd.gov/commission/information.
To be included in the public record and to be considered by the Commission, comments must include a full name and city of residence and be submitted by 11:59 p.m. CDT on Sept. 6.
The next GFP Commission meeting will be held in Winner, September 10-11.
South Dakota
MN officials warn dogs adopted from South Dakota show ‘high prevalence of canine brucellosis’
Image on the left shows a dog waiting for adoption in a shelter (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images). image on the right shows an optical microscope view of bacterium brucella canis causes brucellosis (Photo by: BSIP/Education Images/Un (Getty Images)
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health is warning that some dogs adopted from South Dakota are testing positive for canine brucellosis, a contagious and uncurable infection.
Dogs from South Dakota carrying canine brucellosis
By the numbers:
State officials say that so far in 2026, there have been seven canine brucellosis positive dogs traced to South Dakota.
What they’re saying:
Companion Animal Program Veterinarian Dr. Steve Kivisto shared the following statement on the matter.
“We’re evaluating new import requirements and quarantine procedures for dogs coming into Minnesota from South Dakota due to a high prevalence of canine brucellosis in dogs rescued from that geographic area in the past few years,” said companion animal program veterinarian Dr. Steve Kivisto. “We’ve also had recent cases imported from other states and will consider additional requirements if those also prove to contain a pattern of canine brucellosis.”
Dig deeper:
Canine brucellosis is an infection that primarily affects dogs, but there are strains capable of infecting other species, including humans.
The infection in dogs is not curable, and should an owner choose to attempt treatment, their pet could still continue to shed the bacteria. Infected dogs would either need to be quarantined for life or humanely euthanized to prevent the spread.
People who live with or work closely with animals are also at risk of contracting brucellosis.
What you can do:
Officials say anyone bringing dogs into Minnesota for resale or adoption must have a veterinarian examine the animal and sign off on a certificate of veterinary inspection certifying that it appears free from disease.
Testing is also highly recommended since infected dogs can appear healthy.
The Source: This story uses information shared by the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
A Tyrannosaurus rex fossil discovered on a ranch in western South Dakota will be auctioned off in New York City on Tuesday with a possible sale price of $30 million or more.
The 38-foot long skeleton, nicknamed Gus, stands more than 12 feet tall and has one of the most complete T. rex skeletons ever found. According to Sotheby’s auction house, which is handling the sale, Gus could bring the highest sale price ever for a dinosaur fossil.
The dinosaur is from the late Cretaceous Period and was believed to have lived on Earth 67 million years ago.
The Harding County ranch where the skeleton was found lies in the famed Hell Creek Formation, a geological region of northwestern South Dakota and parts of Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming where dinosaur finds are fairly common.
Several other major dinosaur finds have been made there, including Sue, the famous T. rex discovered in 1990. After legal wrangling over ownership, Sue was auctioned in 1997 at a sale price of $8.3 million to the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, where it remains today.
(Photo: Malcolm Ritter)
The first piece of Gus, a metatarsal from the dinosaur’s foot, was found in 2021 sticking out of the ground on a Harding County ranch owned by Gary and Dana Licking. The find was made by paleontologists with Theropoda Expeditions, a Texas company specializing in commercial excavation, preparation and mounting of dinosaur fossils.
The fossil consists of 183 bone elements, making up 61% of the possible bones in the dinosaur’s body and representing 75% to 80% of the original bone mass by weight, Sotheby’s said.
The dinosaur Sue is 40 feet long and 13 feet tall and is considered the largest and most complete T. rex skeleton ever discovered at 90% of possible bone mass.
“This is our longest-term project ever,” Cassandra Hatton, worldwide head of Sotheby’s Science & Natural History division, said in the video. “From the day the first bone was discovered, we’ve been going back and forth to South Dakota to oversee this whole process.”
The lowest opening bid accepted will be $19 million, with an estimated sale price up to $30 million or more depending on buyer interest, Sotheby’s said.
Gus is named after rancher Gary Licking, whose nickname was Gus. Licking died at age 67 in February 2022, before the full extent of the T. rex skeleton was known.
Gary and Dana Licking married in 1983 and lived on their family ranch 11 miles west of Buffalo, according to Gary’s obituary.
Dana Licking said in Sotheby’s video that she was impressed at the level of skill and professionalism displayed by the paleontologists who discovered the skeleton.
“I’m really grateful that they found it because it could have been lost and nobody ever would learn anything about it,” she said.
Walter Stein, owner of PaleoAdventures in Belle Fourche, in western South Dakota, is an independent paleontologist who is also working to uncover fossils in the Hell Creek Formation.
Western South Dakota is likely to remain a hotbed for discovery of dinosaur fossils, said Stein, who last year opened the Dinosaurs of the Hell Creek Museum in Belle Fourche, a 6,500 square-foot museum with a working paleontology lab, interactive exhibits and dinosaur displays.
“Finding a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton with 183 bones doesn’t happen every day,” he said.
Stein said the auction of Gus could lead to a purchase by either a museum or a private individual or group.
But it is unlikely an American museum would have the funding to acquire Gus because many are struggling or struggling financially, Stein said. Across the world, however, interest remains high in major fossils in countries where funding may be more accessible, such as in Japan, Korea, China, Dubai, Saudi Arabia or in Europe, Stein said.
“On the one hand, I would love for this and every fossil I collect to go to a museum,” he said. “However, there’s so many dinosaur specimens and skeletons on display, it’s not going to affect the science that much if it ends up in private hands.”
— This story originally published on southdakotanewswatch.org.
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