Case Explained: Dakotans for Health; Rick Weiland v. Monae Johnson, Secretary of State

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-11 The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of a permanent injunction enjoining South Dakota’s nine-month pre-election deadline for filing citizen petitions to enact state laws or amend the state constitution, holding that the deadline violates the First Amendment. Applying the *Anderson-Burdick* “sliding” scrutiny standard, the court concluded that while the deadline imposes a burden on citizens’ speech and association rights, the state failed to demonstrate that the nine-month requirement furthers an “important regulatory interest.” Although the state argued the deadline was necessary to allow time for private citizen litigation challenging petition validity before the general election to protect election integrity, the appellate court found no evidence in the record connecting the specific three-month extension from the previous six-month deadline to a meaningful increase in pre-election resolution of such challenges. The court noted that South Dakota law already permits courts to provide complete relief post-election and that the state’s own examples suggested litigation would likely continue past the general election regardless of the extended timeframe. Consequently, the burden on speech was not justified by the asserted interests, and the permanent injunction remains in effect. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.