Allow me to start with what I hope is obvious.  Anyone who has been to a Catholic Church service of some kind where communion is part of the proceedings – a mass, a wedding, a funeral etc. – knows that if you’re not Catholic, you’re not invited to the Lord’s Table.  It doesn’t matter what the depth of your Christian Faith is, you could be Billy Graham – a man who has brought hundreds of thousands perhaps even millions of people to faith in Jesus Christ, if you’re not a Catholic then communion in the Catholic Church is denied to you.  That’s because you’re not a part of the Catholic Church and when you’re in their sanctuary, they get to make the rules.

The Mitchell Exchange Club does a ton of good work in and about town.  They raise considerable dollars and donate to charitable causes throughout the year.  However, if you’re not a member of the Exchange Club – you don’t get to decide where they donate the fruits of their fundraising.

The VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) welcomes the public to their establishment on Main Street, but to be a member of the VFW  organization itself – you must have served in a foreign war as part of the United States Armed Forces.  The American Legion has a similar setup but to be in the American Legion one must have once been in active military service although never deployed to a battle zone.  Only veterans are welcome to be members of these groups.  If you have not served, you need not apply.

There are other examples but I’m sure you get the point.  So, if  you want to be a part of choosing candidates to run as a Republican in the general election, then join the Republican Party.  The Democrats allow fellow Democrats to vote in the Democratic Primary but also welcome Independents to do so as well.  It seems obvious to me, that those who belong to a particular group – political or otherwise – get to determine (within the bounds of anti-discriminatory federal law) who is a member of that organization and who gets to participate in its functions.

Amendment H wants to get rid of partisan primaries and set up a universal primary  system where everybody runs, regardless of party affiliation, with the top two finishers advancing to the general election.  That could often mean that two members of the same party would be facing off in the general election against each other.

Here’s the full text of Amendment H:

Be it enacted by the People of South Dakota:[4]
That Article VII of the Constitution of South Dakota be amended by adding a NEW SECTION to read:

  • 4. A primary election held for the office of governor, a legislative office, a county office, the United States Senate, or the United States House of Representative shall be open to all candidates and all qualified voters without regard to the candidates’ or voters’ party registration or affiliation, or lack thereof.

In a primary election covered by this section, each candidate must be listed on a single primary ballot regardless of the candidate’s political party. A voter may vote for any primary candidate regardless of the voter’s party affiliation or lack thereof. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes cast in a primary election advance to the general election. If more than one candidate is to be elected to an office at the general election, the number of candidates advancing from the primary election is twice the number to be elected in the general election.

The general election ballot may only include those candidates advancing from the primary election. The legislature may, by law, establish procedures for replacing a candidate who advanced from the primary election but will not participate in the general election due to death, withdrawal from the race, or disqualification.

A candidate may select the name of a political party to be listed next to the candidate’s name on the primary ballot. The same political party designation shall appear next to the candidate’s name on the general election ballot if the candidate advances to the general election.

Both the primary and general election ballots must state that a candidate’s indicated political party designation does not constitute or imply an endorsement of the candidate by the political party designated.

The legislature may establish any necessary procedures to implement this section.

If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity will not affect any other provision or application of the section that can be given effect without the invalid provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.

There are several issues with Amendment H.  First, should political parties have the right to choose who runs under their Party banner?  I think the answer is “yes”.  Second, should political parties have the right to restrict participation in their primaries to only those who belong to that party?  Again, I believe the answer is “yes”.  The Democratic Party in South Dakota allows Independents to vote in their primaries and that is a choice that the Democrats have freely made, so good for them, but it doesn’t obligate the Republican Party to do the same.

To run for office, one must have a certain number of signatures – usually predicated on a percentage of how many members of that Party voted in the last gubernatorial election.  If everyone and their dog is running in a top two primary regardless of party affliation, as envisioned by Amendment H, what will the signature requirements be?   Currently,  Democrats have to get Democrats to sign their candidate petitions and Republicans need Republicans to sign.  Since Amendment H says that the candidate may choose a party label, it appears that they may also be allowed not to choose one, so are party labels optional?   Under the wording of Amendment H could someone identify as Republican for example who has never been registered as one before?    Under Amendment H, would a person have to formally change their Party designation on their voter registration card prior to the primary election or could they decide, willy nilly, at primary time what Party they choose to say they are? Could a candidate dispense with parties entirely, running unaffiliated, and just get any registered voters to sign their candidate petition?

Amendment H is making a big deal about folks not being able to participate in the present primary system so why would we exclude people not registered to vote?  What I mean is, why couldn’t adult, South Dakota US citizens – registered or not – sign a candidate’s petition, if fuller participation in the process is what Amendment H is after?  It seems hypocritical to me for Amendment H to despise some electoral restrictions while embracing others.

There is something called “Stolen Valor”.  Stolen Valor is when a person claims to have served in the military and really hasn’t or someone who has served in the military claims to have done something heroic and never did.  Those Amendment H ads that say veterans have no voice in the South Dakota primary system are not only inaccurate, but using veterans in this ad campaign is also dangerously close to the concept of Stolen Valor, in my opinion.

Veterans do have a voice in South Dakota politics.  First, a veteran must be registered to vote like anybody else.  Lots of people don’t choose to register to vote.  Many choose not to register to vote under the mistaken impression that jury duty lists are pulled from registered voter rolls, they’re not.  Second, a veteran must be a member of a political party to vote in that party’s primary.  Third, a veteran (or any other registered voter for that matter) must choose to vote in the primary.

The ad campaign for Amendment H using veterans is disrespectful, misleading and exploitative of veterans.  That ad campaign is insulting to the men and women who have served our country faithfully in the Armed Forces.  That ad campaign shamelessly suggests that veterans are too simple or stupid to navigate the current primary process.  Rarely have I seen an ad campaign more contemptuous of our veterans’ intelligence generally and their commitment to democracy specifically.

Amendment H was sponsored by Republicans who are upset they can’t win primaries because of the rightward tilt of today’s Republican Party nationally as well as here in South Dakota.  Amendment H is supported by other Republicans who think a top two primary system will always produce two Republicans thereby creating a one-party state and giving them a lock on all political offices in South Dakota.

While posing as a democratic, “expand the voter pool”, “good government” measure, Amendment H is really about pique, power and the dilution of democracy.  Don’t be fooled, vote “NO” on Amendment H.