Group drops Medicaid initiative, leaving only Medicaid constitutional amendment on ballot

PIERRE, S.D. - South Dakota voters will only have one Medicaid-related initiative on the ballot in November.

That comes after “Dakotans for Health,’ behind Initiated Measure 28, sent a request to the Secretary of State’s office that their initiative be withdrawn from the Nov. 8 ballot.

“We are grateful to the 24,000 South Dakotans who signed our petition, and the hundreds of South Dakotans who worked tirelessly to get IM 28 on the ballot,” Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said in a press release. “After conversations with South Dakotans Decide Healthcare members, we have agreed that the best path forward to accomplishing this goal is to join efforts behind one campaign.”

Weiland had previously argued that by having two ballot measures on Medicaid out, one an initiated measure and the other a constitutional amendment, voters would have more options. However, many Medicaid expansion supporters feared that two ballot measures would ultimately lead to voter confusion, thus leading to the defeat of both measures.

Rick and Adam Weiland, founder and co-founder of "Dakotans for Health," submitted roughly... — Rick and Adam Weiland, founder and co-founder of "Dakotans for Health," submitted roughly 23,000 signatures to put a second Medicaid expansion proposal on the November general election ballot in South Dakota.(Austin Goss DNN/KOTA)

The lone Medicaid expansion ballot initiative, a constitutional amendment, will appear as Amendment D on the November ballot.

“Medicaid expansion is a great deal for South Dakota,” said Zach Marcus, Campaign Manager for “South Dakotans Decide Healthcare,” the group behind Amendment D. “We will bring hundreds of millions of dollars back home, and make more than 40,000 of our friends and neighbors newly eligible for affordable health care. I’m grateful that Dakotans for Health will be a major partner in ensuring this critical Amendment passes in November.”