← Election Series · Down-ballot coverage · South Dakota
Our call — vote YES
The measure
Constitutional Amendment I is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment (House Joint Resolution 5001, 2025 Legislature). It would condition South Dakota's voter-approved Medicaid expansion on federal funding: if the federal government's share of expansion costs drops below 90%, the expanded coverage ends and Medicaid returns to applying to the traditional categories — low-income children, pregnant women, disabled individuals, and the elderly — as described in the Attorney General's ballot explanation.
What YES does
A YES vote installs the guardrail: expansion continues while Washington pays at least 90%, and ends rather than shifting the cost to South Dakota taxpayers if Washington cuts its share.
What NO does
A NO vote leaves expansion constitutionally required regardless of the federal share, obligating the state to fund whatever gap Washington leaves.
The math
The published threshold is 90% federal funding, as stated in the amendment and the Attorney General's explanation. No dollar estimate of the state's exposure if the federal share fell was published in the sources consulted; the exposure is, by the amendment's design, whatever the difference below 90% would be, statewide.
OUR CALL
Our call: YES.
South Dakota voters accepted expansion on a stated deal: Washington pays 90%. If Washington breaks the deal, South Dakota taxpayers never agreed to pick up the difference. A funding condition is not cruelty; it is a contract term. This is fiscal restraint written exactly where it belongs.
For the complete Election 2026 breakdown — every race, every measure — see the LiberalMind election site.
Vote early. Research your candidates. Choose the best moderates, whatever their party — no extremism from either side. And encourage your friends and family to do the same.
Sources: South Dakota Attorney General ballot explanation for Amendment I (May 20, 2026, via SDPB); South Dakota Republican Party, 2026 Ballot Questions.
Result pending. No verified call (Associated Press or official) as of November 4, 2026. This page will be updated when the race is called or certified. The original article above is unchanged.
AI-assisted article — but the sources are human, and the facts are very real.