South Dakota’s constitution has dozens of references to men holding the highest offices in the state, as in, “He shall have power” and “the duties of his office.” But the state also has women holding some of its highest offices -- including Gov. Kristi Noem.
The 2024 election gave voters a chance to remove the presumptions of masculinity from their governing document. They declined to do so, with 58.4% of the ballots cast rejecting Amendment E.
“As a mother of a little girl in South Dakota, I want all young women to realize that they can grow up to do anything they set their mind to,” state Sen. Erin Tobin, a Republican, said as she urged a "Yes" vote in the state's official pamphlet about the proposed amendment.
The amendment reached the ballot due to a joint resolution of the state legislature. It had the governor’s backing and initially met with little resistance. But then it was opposed by several female Republican lawmakers. State Rep. Liz May said Amendment E was unnecessary and would waste money on changing documents.
“The reference to ‘he’ in our Constitution is simply a singular pronoun,” May said. “The historic use of gereric [sic] male pronouns in our constitution is proper style and form and clearly does not exclude or hinder women from holding public office.”
The male-centric language dates to 1889, when the state’s constitution took effect upon joining the United States. It survived when the state granted women the right to vote in 1918, one year before Congress approved the 19th Amendment.
Despite the male-oriented text, South Dakota voters in 1923 made Gladys Pyle the first woman to serve in the state’s House of Representatives. In 1938, they elected her to a brief stint in the U.S. Senate (to finish out the term of her late husband, Peter Norbeck).
Copyright 2024 NPR
