Searchlight Report

Amid failed attempts to restrict mail-in voting by President Donald Trump, who has alleged “mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt,” South Dakota Searchlight reached out to mail-in voters across the state to learn why they vote by mail and why the option is important to them.Host Meghan O’Brien also explains the recent scrutiny of casting a ballot from home, and the American Civil Liberties Union’s Samantha Chapman breaks down what people should know about the process in South Dakota. Nearly 6,000 South Dakotans have voted by mail so far in the runup to the Nov. 3 general election, accounting for 13% of all advance ballots cast in the state. Advance voting, including in-person voting at county offices, continues until Election Day.

South Dakota’s Republican Attorney General Marty Jackley is running for the state’s only U.S. House seat. He joined host Meghan O’Brien and Senior Reporter John Hult to talk about his priorities on policies involving tech regulation, immigration reform, agriculture and more.Jackley faces Democrat Nikki Gronli on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. To learn more about Gronli, check out her interview with Searchlight Report. Jackley and Gronli are competing for a seat that will be vacated by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor in the June primary election.Early voting is underway and the voter registration deadline is Monday.

Nikki Gronli, a Democrat running for South Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat, joins this episode of Searchlight Report. Gronli is a former U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development state director for South Dakota under then-President Joe Biden.Host Meghan O’Brien and Senior Reporter John Hult ask Gronli to explain her policy priorities on immigration reform, regulating artificial intelligence and social media, and how the federal government can support agriculture.Gronli faces Republican Marty Jackley on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. To learn more about Jackley, check out his interview with Searchlight Report. Gronli and Jackley are competing for a seat that will be vacated by U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor in the June primary election.Advance voting is underway and the voter registration deadline is Monday.

In the Nov. 3 election, South Dakota voters are considering four proposed amendments to the state’s constitution, all placed on the ballot by the Legislature. One of the questions, Amendment I, would repeal the expanded Medicaid eligibility requirement in the state constitution if the federal government’s share of funding for the expansion drops below 90%. There’s a dispute about whether the amendment would trigger an immediate termination of expanded Medicaid if federal funding declines, or whether the amendment would merely give lawmakers the opportunity to consider eliminating the expansion in the event of reduced federal funding.Medicaid is a federal-state healthcare insurance program for people with low incomes. In 2022, South Dakota voters expanded Medicaid eligibility to adults with incomes up to 138% of the poverty level, to capitalize on a federal funding match included in the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. The expansion is part of the state constitution and can only be altered by voters. The state Department of Social Services reported in August that about 143,000 South Dakotans were enrolled in Medicaid, including 31,000 who were enrolled through expanded eligibility. A yes vote approves the amendment and repeals the Medicaid expansion requirement from the constitution if federal support declines. A no vote leaves the constitution as it is.Supporters of the measure, including state Rep. Will Mortenson, R-Fort Pierre, say it’s fiscally responsible. Opponents, including Deb Fischer-Clemens, a nurse and former state lawmaker, worry it could leave thousands of people without health insurance.In this episode, Mortenson and Fischer-Clemens explain their positions to Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien.

In this week’s episode, Searchlight Report host Meghan O’Brien interviews Dan Ahlers, the Democrat running against South Dakota Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden in the general election.O’Brien asked Ahlers the same set of questions she posed to Republican candidates before the June primary election, on topics including abortion, relationships with tribal nations, climate change, taxes and Medicaid. She also asked each candidate to share a “big idea” for South Dakota.Click here to listen to Rhoden’s interview from May.The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting is underway and the voter registration deadline is October 19.