Federal judge temporarily blocks new petitioning policy at Minnehaha County admin building

A federal judge has temporarily blocked Minnehaha County from enforcing a new policy impacting where petition signatures can be gathered at the Minnehaha County administrative buildings in Sioux Falls.

South Dakota District Judge Roberto Lange issued a temporary restraining order Thursday and ordered that a preliminary injunction hearing be held between officials from Minnehaha County and Dakotans for Health, who filed the lawsuit a day earlier.

Dakotans for Health, a healthcare advocacy network and ballot question committee in South Dakota, alleged the new policy — which would place those participating in political activities such as petition signature gathering in a designated zone 50 feet from the doors of the Minnehaha County administrative building and in an another area in front of the stairs at the Minnehaha County Courthouse — infringed on First Amendment rights.

“You’re looking at being boxed out of the highest traffic area in the state to collect signatures for no good reason,” Weiland told the Argus Leader Wednesday.

More: Dakotans for Health sues Minnehaha County over new petition circulator permit guidelines

Those in opposition to the political activities would also be placed in that designated zone, according to the new policy.

The policy, approved by the Minnehaha County Board of Commissioners on May 2, came after Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson said she had seen an uptick in political activity and conflicts between those gathering signatures and those who opposed the activity.

"We would like to have better control over the activities that take place on the campus,” Anderson said at the time.

Those wishing to participate in political activities at the administrative buildings would also have to check in with the Auditor's Office so it could properly place safety markers and ensure there's enough space within the area, according to Anderson.

In court documents, Lange wrote that it appeared Dakotans for Health had standing for the lawsuit since the policy "appears too broad in its restrictions of rights to free speech." But, Lange wanted to give both sides an opportunity to be heard before making a final decision.

Lange added that citizens had the right to leave county administrative buildings without traffic flow issues but there did not seem to be some kind of public outcry in the record that led to the policy being enacted.

Dakotans for Health and Minnehaha County have less than 14 days to appear in federal court for a preliminary hearing.

There are currently four petitions being circulated across the state to get on the 2024 ballot: a constitutional amendment to establish abortion rights, a constitutional amendment and initiated measure to remove the sales and use tax on food, and a constitutional amendment to establish open primaries.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Judge temporarily blocks new permit policy at county admin building