According to a new poll released by South Dakota News Watch and the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, 68 percent of registered voters approve of the $650 million new prison facility in Sioux Falls.
Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy conducted the poll and spoke with 500 registered voters from all parties October 16th through the 19th.
According to the poll 68 percent of respondents said they approved of the new prison while 20 percent disapproved and 12 percent remain undecided. Breaking the numbers down further among Democrats surveyed 70 percent supported the prison while 66 percent of Republicans supported it. Among Independents 72 percent supported the new prison.
The new men’s state prison has been a controversial issue among lawmakers as they refused to appropriate money towards it during the last legislative session. Following that failure, South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden formed project prison reset task forced, aimed at coming up with a plan lawmakers could get on board with. The legislature then appropriated the money at a special session of the legislature in June.
