Courts Strike Down Nine-Month Petition Deadline | Sioux Falls News

Sioux Falls News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Aug 11, 2026 · 1m

South Dakota’s appeals court just struck down a controversial nine-month deadline for citizen petitions, ruling it violates the First Amendment and serves no legitimate government purpose. The decision, backed by a lower court, comes after years of legal battles as the state repeatedly tried to extend petition timelines — first to one year (also struck down), then six months, now nine — each time facing constitutional challenges. The court noted the state admitted this rule burdens free speech, and despite claiming it was needed for signature verification, they’d already invalidated a longer…