Know what people are reading on Dakota Free Press today? The ballot measure pages!
Google and my campaign cards are bringing all sorts of interested South Dakotans to the most thorough and interesting archive of ballot question information in the state. Interestingly, the most-read measure so far is Amendment R, the vo-tech governance question. It’s one of the shortest, simplest measures on the ballot, but apparently a lot of people are trying to figure out just what it does.
Here’s the full list, in order of popularity over the last seven days, as of 11:30 CST today:
- Amendment R: Oversight of Vo-Techs
- Initiated Measure 23: “Fair Share” Union Dues
- Referred Law 19: Incumbent Protection Plan
- Amendment S: Crime Victims Bill of Rights
- Amendment U: Fake 18% Rate Cap
- Amendment T: End Gerrymandering
- Initiated Measure 21: 36% Rate Cap on Payday Loans
- Amendment V: Open Nonpartisan Primary
- Initiated Measure 22: Anti-Corruption Act
- Referred Law 20: Youth Minimum Wage
For perspective, R has drawn twice as much traffic as second-place IM 23 and over seven times as much traffic as last-place RL 20 over the past week.
I can only speculate as to the reasons for the varying levels of interest. R, 23, and 19 may be more difficult to understand, given that their impacts aren’t really made clear by their text. People are looking up 19 just because they haven’t heard much about this election nerd law from any organized campaign. 20 has also not gotten much organizational attention, but people may have heard enough in the media and still have their 2014 vote on the minimum wage fresh enough in their minds that they don’t need much study to know which way they want to go (Novstrups, that suggests you guys are toast!).
But what of IM 22, the 70-section Anti-Corruption Act? It’s the longest measure on the ballot by far, and I would contend the hardest text to decipher, what with all of its strike-outs and insertions and a need for prior knowledge of campaign finance rules to make sense of the scope of its changes. Have people already made up their minds on 22 but not on the more-read measures?
Great job but those should have have came out heavy two months ago.
Wish I could see all of your faces right now. LMAO. YOU LOSE.
Sure. Stay classy, Clint. From what precincts have you obtained early 100% results to back your schadenfreude? I see U, 19, 20, and 21 going my way and 22 closer than one would expect (but with 40% of precincts reporting, I make no conclusions).
Mr. Clint, it is good that V and the other insane elections law bills are getting smothered. I am glad R is tight and the unions, which are all dying, are getting crushed more.
What in the bedickens is happening? And why cannot the Brown County people get their votes counted, golly darn it! Is it sloppy management or what is your problem there, people! We want to see video from Almanzo’s party and Mr. H’s party.
@grudznick: Looks the logjam is cleared. With 2 of 12 precincts report cah is losing 60%-40% to Moe Howard.
Mr. Coyote, I am seeing 4 precepts reporting. Mr. Novstrup is indeed underperforming what the polls showed but I think the next 5 precepts are the ones where he was focusing his efforts.
@grudznick: 7/12 reporting: Still Moe 60.10% – cah 39.90%. Cory’s on the cusp of a moral victory. Go Cory Go!