Legislative Scorecard Based on the U.S. Constitution

The Legislative Scorecard is a nationwide educational program of The John Birch Society. Its purpose is to create an informed electorate on how state legislators are voting. The Scorecard is nonpartisan; it does not promote any candidate or political party. Bills are selected for their constitutional implications and cost to the taxpayers.

Please share this Scorecard in your district to inform people about your legislator's record on key votes.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I --- 11 C.F.R. §114(4)(c)(4) --- 616 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1980)

Legislative Scorecard

Based on the U.S. Constitution

SD Scorecard 2023

Please share this Scorecard in your district to inform people about your legislator's record on key votes.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment I --- 11 C.F.R. §114(4)(c)(4) --- 616 F.2d 45 (2d Cir. 1980)

The following scorecard lists several key votes in the South Dakota Legislature in 2023 and ranks state representatives and senators based on their fidelity to (U.S.) constitutional and limited-government principles.

This is our second state-level Scorecard; the selected votes may not be reflective of legislators’ overall records. Their cumulative scores will change as we add more votes. Please check regularly for updates.

Senate

House of Representatives

Senate

1. Criminal Immunity for Women Who Have Abortions

Good Vote: No

HB1220 Criminal Immunity for Women Who Have Abortions (passed 33 to 1 on 3/6/2023). Provides that that a female who undergoes an unlawful abortion may not be held criminally liable.

2. Budget for Fiscal Year 2024

Good Vote: No

SB210 Fiscal Year 2024 Budget (passed 29 to 3 on 3/3/2023). Appropriates $7.4 billion for the state's budget during the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023, and ending June 30, 2024.

3. Defunding Lewd or Lascivious Content

Good Vote: Yes

HB1116 Defunding Lewd or Lascivious Content (failed 15 to 18 on 3/2/2023). Would prohibit the use of state resources, such as by public libraries or public school districts, in hosting lewd or lascivious content.

4. “Electronic Money” in the Uniform Commercial Code

Good Vote: No

HB1193 "Electronic Money" in the Uniform Commercial Code (passed 24 to 9 on 3/1/2023). Would adopt a new definition of “electronic money” in the Uniform Commercial Code.

5. Protecting Minors from Sex Mutilation

Good Vote: Yes

HB1080 Protecting Minors from Sex Mutilation (passed 30 to 4 on 2/9/2023). Prohibits certain medical and surgical interventions on minor patients, including puberty blockers and gender affirmation surgeries.

6. Prohibiting Ranked-Choice Voting

Good Vote: Yes

SB55 Prohibiting Ranked-Choice Voting (passed 31 to 4 on 2/2/2023). Prevents the State Board of Elections from authorizing and a political subdivision from establishing a system of ranked-choice voting.

Legislator Scores

[ + ] Pro-liberty Vote[ - ] Anti-liberty Vote[ . ] Did not Vote

Name	Party	District	Score	1	2	3	4	5	6
Arch Beal	R	SD-012	67%	-	-	+	+	+	+
Jim Bolin	R	SD-016	50%	-	-	+	-	+	+
Shawn Bordeaux	D	SD-026	0%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Bryan J. Breitling	R	SD-023	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Jessica Castleberry	R	SD-035	80%	-	.	+	+	+	+
Casey Crabtree	R	SD-008	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Sydney Davis	R	SD-017	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Randy Deibert	R	SD-031	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Michael Diedrich	R	SD-034	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Helene Duhamel	R	SD-032	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Red Dawn Foster	D	SD-027	0%	-	-	-	.	-	-
Julie Frye-Mueller	R	SD-030	100%	+	+	+	+	+	+
Brent Hoffman	R	SD-009	83%	-	+	+	+	+	+
Jean Hunhoff	R	SD-018	50%	-	-	+	-	+	+
David Johnson	R	SD-033	40%	-	-	.	-	+	+
Joshua Klumb	R	SD-020	60%	-	-	+	+	.	+
Jack Kolbeck	R	SD-013	67%	-	-	+	+	+	+
Steve Kolbeck	R	SD-002	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Liz Larson	D	SD-010	0%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Ryan Maher	R	SD-028	67%	-	-	+	+	+	+
Jim Mehlhaff	R	SD-024	50%	-	-	+	-	+	+
Reynold F. Nesiba	D	SD-015	0%	-	-	-	-	-	-
Al Novstrup	R	SD-003	67%	-	-	+	+	+	+
Herman Otten	R	SD-006	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Tom Pischke	R	HD-025	100%	.	+	+	+	+	+
Tim Reed	R	SD-007	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Michael Rohl	R	SD-001	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Lee Schoenbeck	R	SD-005	40%	-	.	-	-	+	+
Kyle Schoenfish	R	SD-019	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
Jim Stalzer	R	SD-011	60%	-	-	+	.	+	+
Erin Tobin	R	SD-021	40%	-	-	.	-	+	+
David Wheeler	R	SD-022	33%	-	-	-	-	+	+
John Wiik	R	SD-004	50%	-	-	+	-	+	+
Larry P. Zikmund	R	SD-014	60%	-	.	+	-	+	+

Average Constitutional Score by Party

Party	Score
Republican	50.9%
Democrat	0%

Freedom Index

A Legislative Scorecard Based on the Principles of the U.S. Constitution