•PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- When South Dakota voters express their opinions on issues ranging from a sales tax increase to merit pay for teachers on Nov. 6, their votes also will serve as a referendum on Gov. Dennis Daugaard's first two years in office.
•Daugaard proposed one of the four top ballot issue questions. The other three were put on the ballot by opponents of several of his key initiatives.
•The Republican governor is using money left over from his campaign fund to send supporters a postcard explaining his stand on all the issues. He hopes voters pass every ballot issue except a proposed sales tax increase.
•"I'm letting them know how I'm going to vote in case they're interested," he said.
•Here's a look at the proposals:
•SALES TAX
•One of the first things Daugaard did when he took office in January 2011 was propose state spending cuts to balance the budget. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved deep reductions in areas including aid to school districts and payments to Medicaid providers.
•In response, organizations representing teachers and health care facilities collected enough signatures to propose a 1-cent sales tax increase that would boost the state's rate from 4 percent to 5 percent on Jan. 1. The tax increase would raise an estimated $180 million a year to be split between school districts and the program that pays the medical expenses of poor people.
•Daugaard said teachers and health care providers have not proven they need the extra money.
•School aid and Medicaid spending were cut by $77 million last year, but $18 million was restored this year. That means $59 million remains to be restored, but the proposed tax increase would provide three times that amount of money, the governor said.
•"It would be the largest tax increase in history," he said, adding that he would

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