South Dakota Groups Spend Millions Fighting Amendment L Ballot Measure
Campaign finance reports show opponents of South Dakota's Amendment L have outspent supporters by nearly $2 million ahead of the November 3 vote. L-No, the committee opposing the measure, raised over $2.2 million, largely from the Washington-based Fairness Project, and has spent $1.7 million; the Fairness Project separately spent $260,000 against the measure. The pro-amendment Save our South Dakota Constitution committee raised about $93,000, including a late contribution tied to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and spent about $11,000. Amendment L, placed on the ballot by the Republican-led Legislature, would raise the threshold for approving future constitutional amendments from a simple majority to 60%; opponents argue it is designed to block future citizen-led measures like the Medicaid expansion voters added to the constitution four years ago.