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 27
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 | |||
| Anthony G. Kathol | R | Candidate indicated support for bills protecting life and commented: As a faithful Catholic, I believe that life begins at conception and shall be protected by whatever means necessary. | |
| Bruce Whalen | R | Candidate indicated support for bills protecting life | |
| Gerald M Cournoyer Jr | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| Red Dawn Foster | D | Candidate has a weak pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) | |
| House | ||
| Liz May | R | Candidate has a strong pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) |
| Elsie Meeks | D | Candidate did not respond |
| Peri Pourier | D | Candidate has a weak pro-life voting record (Life bills, 2023-24) |
| 2) EDUCATION OPTIONS – Do the candidates support expanded options for education? (Ex: Private school opportunities, homeschooling, etc.) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Anthony G. Kathol | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide greater educational options and commented: Parents are the primary educators of their children and must have a say in their child’s education that meets their specific needs while maintaining accountability. | |
| Bruce Whalen | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide greater educational options | |
| Gerald M Cournoyer Jr | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| Red Dawn Foster | D | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (2/2) | |
| House | ||
| Liz May | R | Candidate has a 100% record of support for education options (5/5) |
| Elsie Meeks | D | Candidate did not respond |
| Peri Pourier | D | Candidate has a 66% record of support for education options (2/3) |
| 3) MARIJUANA REGULATIONS – Do the candidates support reasonable regulations on marijuana? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Anthony G. Kathol | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide reasonable marijuana regulations and commented: Cannabis is a Schedule 1 mind-shifting drug in accordance to the US Drug Enforcement Administration that altars one’s state of mind and inhibition. | |
| Bruce Whalen | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that provide reasonable marijuana regulations | |
| Gerald M Cournoyer Jr | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| Red Dawn Foster | D | Candidate has an F rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) | |
| House | ||
| Liz May | R | Candidate has a B+ rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) |
| Elsie Meeks | D | Candidate did not respond |
| Peri Pourier | D | Candidate has an F rating for marijuana regulations (PSDK, 2024) |
| 4) AGE VERIFICATION – Do the candidates support legislation to require age-verification for explicit websites? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | |||
| Anthony G. Kathol | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that require age verification for explicit websites and commented: Parents need to be empowered with the proper software tools to protect their children from inappropriate pornographic websites in tandem with proper legislation and enforcement. | |
| Bruce Whalen | R | Candidate indicated support for bills that require age verification for explicit websites | |
| Gerald M Cournoyer Jr | D | Candidate did not respond | |
| Red Dawn Foster | D | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) | |
| House | ||
| Liz May | R | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) |
| Elsie Meeks | D | Candidate did not respond |
| Peri Pourier | D | Candidate has a voting record of support for age-verification legislation (HB1257, 2024) |
