South Dakota voter poll shows recreational marijuana projections too close to call

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -Five hundred sixty-five registered South Dakota voters answered questions about their thoughts on recreational marijuana and their plans to vote on November 8th.

The SDSU Poll findings, released in part by David Wiltse, Associate Professor of Political Science, reveal that the results on Initiated Measure 27 could be close.

Of those who participated in the survey, 45% are in favor, 47% percent against, with 8% undecided. With a margin of error of plus or minus 4%, those watching the election find it a nail-biter.

“In the evolution of opinions on marijuana has moved a lot. We, you know, ten to twenty years ago, we didn’t have many states that had legalized recreational marijuana. So there’s a lot of speculation,” said Wiltse.

And some of the voters’ minds have changed since the last election when both recreational and medical marijuana were on the ballot.

“There’s more clarity for voters. And there has been some time for Republicans, in particular, to really think about this issue,” said Wiltse.

We asked how South Dakotans view recreational marijuana compared to nationwide trends.

“When it’s put to the people in a ballot measure like this, in most states when this comes up, it’s passing. South Dakota will be harder simply because there’s just a firmer opposition,” said Wiltse.

Another point of interest is who could be fueling both sides of the campaigns and if the donors are in or out of state. According to the Secretary of State’s office, the submission of finances and donors is not due until October 24th.