“Democracy is the worst form of Government…except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” - Winston Churchill
Elections are central to American democracy, and in the end, most important state-level decisions about policies, funding and people are first made at the ballot box. People elect other people to represent them and make many of those decisions on their behalf. Which brings me to “legislative vacancies.”
When a legislator resigns or dies in office, those vacancies are typically filled by an election, whether as a special election or combined with another election. At least that’s how it’s done in a majority of the states (29) in our nation. But surprisingly, glorious South Dakota is not one of those states. Instead, South Dakota is one of a handful of states (9) where vacancies are filled by appointment.
Ironically, it hasn’t always been that way. In our early history, legislative vacancies were filled by election, as “writs of election were issued to fill such vacancies.” But in 1947, the language was changed to “the governor shall make appointments to fill such vacancies.” This was presumably after vacancies from WWII or concerns about timing and efficiency, given that elections of the era were decided by lever-operated machines and hand-counted ballots. It has remained that way ever since.
Perhaps it’s time to return to our roots and embrace elections, the advantages of which should be obvious to both citizens and the elected officials who represent them. In our constitutional republic, voters should be represented by someone elected by them rather than someone appointed for them. Elected representatives should be expected to be more accountable and responsive to their constituents. Elections are also consistent with the populist message of our oft-quoted state motto, “Under God, the People Rule.”
That said, there may be reasons to support the status quo, and there is always opposition. Some will argue it could cost the counties a small amount of money if the special election is held apart from a coinciding election. Some will argue that elections are less efficient or slower than appointments. Some may prefer the power of legislative appointments to remain with the executive branch.
This session, and probably this week, we’ll consider a resolution (SJR504) to empower voters to decide if they want to elect their own representatives to fill legislative vacancies. You’re welcome to contact your state representative or senator to ask questions or simply share your opinion. We’ll be listening.
The author served a career in the military, surviving the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. He’s a published author, occasional newspaper columnist and currently serves as a state senator for District 9, which includes western Sioux Falls, Hartford and Wall Lake.