South Dakota lawmakers advance bill allowing citizens to pull signatures from abortion petition

The South Dakota House overwhelmingly approved a bill on Tuesday that would make it possible for citizens to remove their signatures from ballot petitions. Rep. Jon Hansen sponsored HB 1244 after saying he heard from constituents who claimed they signed a ballot petition supporting abortion under false pretenses. Dakotans for Health circulated the controversial petition that aimed to enshrine abortion in the state’s constitution. 

How were voters misled? Voters reportedly told Hansen that they thought the petition was to repeal taxes on groceries, according to reporting by the South Dakota Searchlight. Dakotans for Health is running a separate ballot petition to repeal the state grocery tax. Hansen says his bill allows voters to remove their names from a petition they no longer agree with. The bill was introduced to the state’s Senate on Wednesday and referred to the Senate State Affairs committee. California, Idaho, Utah, and Washington have similar legislation allowing voters to withdraw signatures from ballot initiatives.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift on an advancing abortion referendum in Maine.