South Dakota
| State website: | Legislative committee website |
| 2010-cycle districts: | State legislature « NEW |
| 2000-cycle districts: | State legislature |
| Primary governing law: | S.D. Const. art. III, § 5; S.D. Codified Laws § 2-2-32 |
State leg.: On October 24, 2011, the state legislature passed HB 1001, which was signed by the governor on October 25, and precleared on January 19, 2012.
- Institution
Redistricting political control:
Governor State Senate State House Congressional lines n/a State legislative lines R 5 D, 30 R 19 D, 50 R, 1 O (could override veto) 2000 cong. lines n/a 2000 state lines R 11 D, 24 R 20 D, 50 R (could override veto) South Dakota has only one congressional district.
South Dakota state legislative lines are drawn by the state legislature, as a regular statute, subject to gubernatorial veto. The members of the legislative committee responsible for redistricting are listed here.
- Timing
Census data were delivered to South Dakota on February 16, 2011.
The legislature's deadline for producing plans is December 1, 2011; the regular legislative session began on January 11, 2011, and ended on March 28, 2011. An advisory committee apparently plans to issue recommendations to the legislature by late October. [S.D. Const. art. III, § 5] Candidates must file for state legislative primary elections by March 27, 2012. [S.D. Codified Laws § 12-6-4]
South Dakota prohibits redrawing state legislative lines at any point mid-decade, before the next Census. [S.D. Const. art. III, § 5; In re Certification of a Question of Law, 615 N.W.2d 590 (S.D. 2000)]
- Public input
The legislative committee with responsibility for redistricting held a series of public meetings. Materials from past meetings can be found here.
- Criteria
Like all states, South Dakota must comply with constitutional equal population requirements; the state constitution further requires that state legislative districts be populated as nearly equally "as is practicable." [S.D. Const. art. III, § 5]
South Dakota must also, like all states, comply with section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Because two South Dakota counties (Shannon and Todd) are considered "covered jurisdictions" under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, South Dakota has an obligation to submit redistricting plans to the Department of Justice or to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to ensure that the plans do not discriminate against minority communities in those counties.
The South Dakota constitution further requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact. State statutes also ask that districts protect communities of interest and respect geographical and political boundaries; these latter statutory requirements may be altered by the legislature. [S.D. Const. art. III, § 5; S.D. Codified Laws § 2-2-32]
State legislative districts are nested, such that one state Senator and two state Representatives are elected from each district, except for one Senate district divided into two state House districts. [S.D. Const. art. III, § 5; S.D. Codified Laws § 2-2-37]
- 2000 cycle
In the 2000 redistricting cycle, South Dakota's legislature enacted state legislative districts that were signed on November 1, 2001. The plan was challenged in federal court, and struck down on grounds that it did not comply with the Voting Rights Act. When the legislature failed to draw remedial districts, the federal court did so, on August 18, 2005. [Bone Shirt v. Hazeltine, 461 F.3d 1011 (8th Cir. 2006)]
- Other state links
