Release: Judge permanently pulls IM26 from the South Dakota Ballot

Pat Powers

Judge permanently pulls IM26 from the South Dakota Ballot

Sioux Falls, SD (July 16, 2018) – Today, Hughes County Circuit Court Judge Patricia DeVaney issued an order to permanently remove Initiated Measure (IM) 26, the deceptive prescription drug ballot issue, from South Dakota’s November 2018 ballot. Judge DeVaney’s ruling found that proponents of the ballot issue had improperly circulated IM26 petitions under South Dakota law which led to signatures being disqualified. The number of remaining valid signatures was far below the threshold required to qualify for the ballot.

Sherry Kurtz-Anderson, the spokesperson for South Dakotans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue, the coalition formed to oppose IM26, issued the following statement in the wake of the Court’s decision:

“IM26 was about deception from the beginning. Proponents of this deceptive proposal took a bad idea rejected by voters in California and Ohio, funded it with contributions from an out-of-state health care organization and violated the law in attempting to qualify it for the ballot. We applaud Judge DeVaney for seeing through this deception, applying the clear requirements of South Dakota law, and protecting South Dakota voters and the integrity of the initiative process with her ruling.”

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:

South Dakotans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue filed the complaint in the Hughes County Circuit Court in May 2018 following the certification of the petitions submitted by proponents to the South Dakota Secretary of State. While the Secretary of State followed the statutory requirements in reviewing the signatures, her office is not required to review the circulator oaths or the circulators’ qualifications as South Dakota residents. A court challenge was the only option to address unqualified circulators or improperly circulated petitions.

Washington insider, political activist and failed political candidate Rick Weiland led the IM26 effort in South Dakota. For Michael Weinstein, the CEO of the California-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation that funded the South Dakota measure, being kicked off the ballot in South Dakota is strike three after losing similar measures in both California and Ohio.

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16 thoughts on “Release: Judge permanently pulls IM26 from the South Dakota Ballot”

  5. Thank God for people that have the passion and drive to push back and take crazy IMs to court. For me, this is further evidence that our election laws needs strengthening to prevent abuse. Maybe our SOS needs the power to detect and rule on abnormalities similar to the power a judge currently has.

  6. It should be harder to get an iniative on the ballot. More signatures, or a certain percentage from each county or district based on their number of voters in their county or district in the last election, prosecution of those who abuse the signature collection process. And for those who complain that these will constrain the public’s rights, no, they have brought this on themselves. It simply protects the people of Soouth Dakota from being used by outside money and influence.

    1. There are only 5 ballot issues that will be voted on in the next election, and 4 of them came from legislators. The system is working fine. The idea that it needs to be harder to get on the ballot is blatantly anti-democratic and reflects deep ignorance of South Dakota history.

  7. …”funded it with contributions from an out-of-state health care organization…”

    Novo Nordisk and Bristol-Myers Squibb gave you over $300,000, Sherry. That’s more than six times what AHF gave to IM26 proponents. This argument is disingenuous at best. While I agree it’s probably the wrong way to lower drug prices, and the shenanigans of the petition circulators obviously violated the law, I don’t think that invalidates the idea that big pharma is yanking our collective chain. We have to address spiraling healthcare costs, and jeering “librul tears” isn’t going to fix that.

    1. Welcome back Ike! Would could really use you in the White House right now! Can Heaven spare you for a while to clean up a mess? 🙂

    2. You missed Trump’s press conference? No surprise there, you can make up your own truth. Don’t let your TDS get all worked up, Trump and some Republicans are handling big phrama and healthcare costs for you even though your hate runs deep. Promises made, promises kept.

      1. The only person Donald Trump is working for is Vladimir Putin. That was confirmed yesterday in undeniable terms.

        1. You never liked him and your bias comes thru.

          A smart person would make the effort to reconcile his criticism of Germany’s pipeline deal,with what they saw yesterday. A person who isn’t smart and is blinded by bias would say what you did.

        2. It was also confirmed in undeniable terms, after yours and Ike’s comments were made, that 2 out of 10 leftists are as stupid as the other 8.

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