PIERRE, South Dakota – A proposal to expand Medicaid eligibility in South Dakota will appear on the ballot this November, the secretary of state’s office announced Monday.

A broad-based coalition of South Dakotans, including healthcare groups, patient advocates, and community leaders gathered an estimated 38,244 signatures to put it on the ballot – more than 4,000 above the number required to qualify for the General Election 2022.

“Hardworking South Dakotans should have a say in how their tax dollars are spent. Getting this on the ballot is an important step toward putting that decision-making power back their hands,” said Chris Gallaway, one of two FieldWorks partners who was on hand late last year to help deliver the petitions to the secretary of state’s office along with another of the firm’s partners, Dessari Langston.

“We’re so proud to have been a part of this historic effort,” Langston added. “South Dakotans working to extend and protect life-saving healthcare for tens of thousands of their fellow citizens is what the spirit of community is all about.”

If approved by voters in November, health coverage would be extended to over 42,000 additional South Dakotans. Moreover, hundreds of millions of dollars in tax money would return to the local economy and would help keep South Dakota’s rural hospitals open – a precious lifeline in the sparsely populated state.

From South Dakota Public Broadcasting: SOUTH DAKOTA MEDICAID EXPANSION WILL BE ON NOVEMBER BALLOT