• The Associated Press
• Argus Leader of Sioux Falls, Nov. 17, 2012
• Why do we always say no?
• In South Dakota, is "no" the default choice on Election Day?
• It seems that way if you review what happened to Amendments M and N, both efforts to change outdated laws that might have only received a footnote of interest in the election. Amendment M, if you remember, would have removed constitutional limitations on corporate voting, debt and stock, and would have allowed the Legislature to make the new rules. Amendment N would have changed the mileage limit from 5 cents a mile for lawmakers going to and from Pierre at the start and end of the session to a reimbursement rate set by the Legislature.
• Legislators are those people we vote into office to take care of our state's business, so it seems reasonable that we would trust them. But maybe we don't, even though we give them the power of deciding how to spend the state budget, for example.
• Those same voters did say yes to half of this year's constitutional amendments: O, which changes how the state transfers millions each year out of the cement plant trust fund, and P, which adds an explicit requirement that the state have a balanced budget, even though we already do that each year.
• The constitutional amendments are different than initiated measures and referred laws, which included 14, 15 and 16 on this year's ballot. All three were part of the public discussion before voters went to the polls. Even though many lawmakers, business people and even Gov. Dennis Daugaard spoke in favor of individual measures, all three failed. The difference might be those ballot measures had people campaigning for and against them.
• So why "no" on M and N, in which no opposition spoke up? Besides distrust of the lawmakers we elect, are we as voters uninformed, so we just vote to leave it alone? Do we have the mentality that since it's worked OK this long, let's stick with it? Why change it?
• We would like to hear from you. Why do you think it is that voters reject amend

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