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Operative Pushing Victims’ Rights Constitutional Amendment

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — An experienced Republican political operative is pushing a ballot measure to expand the rights of crime victims during court proceedings and enshrine those rights in the state Constitution.

Jason Glodt is heading a political organization that’s pushing the measure patterned after “Marsy’s Law,” which California voters approved in 2008 after the murder of a college student.

Supporters must secure nearly 28,000 signatures by Nov. 9 to get the amendment on the 2016 ballot.

Glodt says it would guarantee crime victims have a say in criminal proceedings such as sentencing and would put them first in line for restitution.

Zachary Norris is executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, which opposed the California measure. Norris says policymakers should work to prevent violence, not simply react after it occurs.