2024 Voter Guide – SD LEGISLATURE
You’ll find information on:
Sanctity of Life
Do the candidates support protections for unborn life?
Education Options
Do the candidates support all forms of education, including private schools and home school?
Marijuana Regulations
Are the candidates committed to keeping marijuana from running rampant in our communities?
Age Verification
Do the candidates support safeguards to keep young children from accessing explicit content online?
DISTRICT 16
Green: Strong voting record or survey response
Grey: Mixed voting record or inconclusive survey response
Red: Weak voting record or survey response
“S” inside the circle: Survey results from a new candidate (no voting record)
Blank: No voting record or survey answer
For full details on scoring, click here.
| 1) LIFE – Do the candidates support the sanctity of life? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Kevin D. Jensen | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) | |
| House | ||
| Karla J Lems | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) |
| Richard Vasgaard | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (SDRTL, 2021-22) |
| Matthew Carl Ness | D | Candidate did not respond |
| 2) EDUCATION OPTIONS – Do the candidates support expanded options for education? (Ex: Private school opportunities, homeschooling, etc.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Kevin D. Jensen | R | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (5/5) | |
| House | ||
| Karla J Lems | R | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (2/2) |
| Richard Vasgaard | R | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (2/2) |
| Matthew Carl Ness | D | Candidate did not respond |
| 3) MARIJUANA REGULATIONS – Do the candidates support reasonable regulations on marijuana? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Kevin D. Jensen | R | Candidate has an A+ rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) | |
| House | ||
| Karla J Lems | R | Candidate has a B+ rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) |
| Richard Vasgaard | R | Candidate has a strong record of voting against marijuana expansion (Industry scorecard, 2022) |
| Matthew Carl Ness | D | Candidate did not respond |
| 4) AGE VERIFICATION – Do the candidates support legislation to require age-verification for explicit websites? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Kevin D. Jensen | R | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) | |
| House | ||
| Karla J Lems | R | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) |
| Richard Vasgaard | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that require age verification for explicit websites |
| Matthew Carl Ness | D | Candidate did not respond |
