John Wiik

COMMENTARY
A person climbs the stairs of the South Dakota Capitol. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Several early bills show some legislators could use a dose of common sense

BY: - January 22, 2023

It puzzles me why some South Dakota legislators, who depend on voters for their jobs, are so afraid of their constituents. And why isn’t common sense a legislative job requirement? Oh, right. Voters establish the job criteria. Maybe that is why some legislators are petrified. If they voted the legislator into office, what might they […]

The South Dakota Capitol Rotunda. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Republican lawmaker files bill to ban ranked choice voting

BY: - January 11, 2023

A lawmaker who hopes to be the next chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party, state Sen. John Wiik, R-Big Stone City, wants to ban ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting refers to any voting system in which voters rank their choice of candidate by ordered preference. Those rankings are used to determine a winner […]