Next year two states will vote, by simple majority, on ballot questions that would move the goalposts and make subsequent ballot questions harder to enact.

Both states, South Dakota and Arkansas, have scheduled statewide votes to raise the threshold for adopting new laws at the ballot box.  In both cases a simple majority (more than 50%) is now required; if approved, this would increase to 60%.

South Dakota’s measure is especially controversial because the legislature, which is under Republican control, rescheduled it from November 2022 to the June 2022 primary.  If it passes, it would likely doom another constitutional amendment in 2022 that aims to expand access to Medicaid – and which will not go before voters until November.

At present, 38 states allow a simple majority of voters to enact changes to the constitution, while 11 impose stiffer criteria.  Legislation to raise such thresholds have also been introduced this year in Arizona, Florida, Missouri and Oklahoma.