McIntyre v. Wick

[¶62] 1. The constitution requires the Legislature to be the judge of the election returns of its members.

[¶ 63] A plain review of Article III, § 9 of the South Dakota Constitution demonstrates it is not ambiguous: “Each house shall be the judge of the election returns and qualifications of its own members.” The constitution vests in the Legislature the jurisdiction to decide this dispute. It is not appropriate for judicial review despite the purported legislative delegation of the duty to this court in SDCL 12-21-48(1). An objective reading of the cases relied on in the majority opinion does…