Evidently I haven’t messed up on the ballot measures! Grand Old Man of the South Dakota Blogosphere Douglas Wiken weighs in on our initiatives and referenda, and we agree on all ten! Here’s the SD Blogosphere Ballot Measure Scorecard updated with Wiken’s votes:
| Issue | Dakota Free Press | South DaCola | SoDak Liberty | Bob Newland | Sioux Empire Podcast | Dakota Today |
| Amendment R: Regents/vo-tech authority split | Yes | Yes | No | No | — | Yes |
| Amendment S: Glodt’s crime victims bill of rights | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Amendment T: Independent Redistricting Commission | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Amendment U: Usury! Payday Lender Protection Clause | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Amendment V: Open Nonpartisan Primary | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Initiated Measure 21: 36% Payday Loan Rate Cap | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Initiated Measure 22: Anti-Corruption Act | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Initiated Measure 23: “Fair Share” Union Dues | Yes | — | No | No | No | Yes |
| Referred Law 19: Incumbent Protection Act | No | — | No | Yes | No | No |
| Referred Law 20: Youth Minimum Wage Cut | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
South Dakota’s online think tank thus remains unanimous on three measures: Yes on T, to create an independent redistricting commission to stop gerrymandering; No on S, the costly and redundant crime victims bill of rights; and No on U, the payday lenders’ decoy amendment.
Wiken notes that he and I also line up perfectly with outgoing Senator Bernie Hunhoff (D-18/Yankton), who blips each ballot measure on Facebook. I agree with his reasoning on each measure. His best line is on IM 21, in rebuttal to one of the seemingly reasonable arguments I’ve heard in favor payday lenders:
Industry apologists say such loans are the only thing available to people drowning in debt. That’s like saying it’s better to throw an anchor to a drowning man if you can’t find a life jacket. The loans are killers. Vote Yes [Bernie Hunhoff, Facebook post, 2016.10.20].
When we say “Berniecrat” in South Dakota, we mean “Bernie-Hunhoff-ocrat!”