Thursday,  November 8, 2012 • Vol. 13--No. 114 • 19 of 38 •  Other Editions

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view, and voters didn't give him as high of marks as he might have hoped.
• Three of the seven ballot measures dealt with legislation and a constitutional amendment that Daugaard put forward. A fourth proposal to raise the state sales tax to provide more money for schools and health care came in response to his budget cuts.
• Voters rejected all but Daugaard's proposed state constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget. He tried to put a positive spin on the results, saying their most important action was rejecting the sales tax increase, which he had opposed. He said he would work with lawmakers to try to get some compromise versions of his other initiatives passed.
• Elizabeth Smith, who teaches political science at the University of South Dakota, said that could be tougher now because the election results might make state lawmakers leery about revisiting those issues.
• "I think when voters produce such a resounding 'no,' it takes a little wind out of the sails of that kind of proposal," Smith said. "I think it's going to be a lot harder for him to convince the Legislature to go down those roads again."
• Still, Bob Burns, a retired South Dakota State University political science professor, doubted the election results would hurt the governor in the long run. An improving economy and budget surplus could allow the governor and Legislature to spend more on schools and health care without the sales tax boost, he said.
• And the same voters who rejected Daugaard's top initiatives overwhelmingly re-elected a Republican majority in the Legislature to work with him, Burns said.
• One of the measures voters rejected was Daugaard's plan to give bonuses to top teachers, phase out tenure and recruit candidates for critical teaching jobs. The Legislature approved the proposal earlier this year, but the state's main teachers union, the South Dakota Education Association, collected enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot for a public vote. Daugaard said lawmakers might resurrect at least some parts the plan.
• At the same time, voters rejected a proposal to raise the state sales tax from 4 percent to 5 percent with half of the extra money going to school districts and half to Medicaid, which provides health care for the state's poor. The teachers union and a health care organization backed that proposal.
• Daugaard said the failure of the sales tax measure and his education overhaul means voters are satisfied with the current education system.
• But Sandra Waltman, communications director for the teachers' union, said voters agree education spending should be increased, but they don't believe in raising the sales tax to do it.

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