. . . .
[¶18] The county commission and Frawley did not dispute that these statutes create a legal duty to act. The dispute centered on the form of the petition. The county commission and Frawley argue that if the form of the petition does not meet the requirements set forth by statute, then no duty arises under either SDCL 7-18A-16 or 7-18A-15.1. With this in mind, and since the issue of a legal duty to act is not in dispute, this Court need only determine the petition's validity. This Court is cognizant that SDCL 2-1-11 requires that initiative and referendum petitions "shall be liberally construed, so that the real intention of the petitioners may not be defeated by a mere technicality." For this reason "we begin with a presumption that petitions which are circulated, signed, and filed are valid." Larson v. Hazeltine, 1996 SD 100, ¶19, 552 N.W.2d 830, 835 (citations omitted).
. . . .
[¶20] The form of a referendum petition is set forth in SDCL ch 2-1 and SDAR ch 5:02:08. More specifically, SDCL 7-18A-17 and SDAR 5:02:08.19 govern the form of the petition. SDCL 7-18A-17 provides:
If the matter intended to be covered by a referendum petition is the whole of any ordinance or resolution, the petition shall contain the title of such ordinance or the subject of such resolution, and the date of its passage, but if only a portion of such ordinance or resolution is intended to be covered by the petition, such portion shall be set out at length.
. . . .
(1) The initial citation of any published opinion of the Supreme Court released prior to January 1, 1996, in a brief, memorandum, or other document filed with the Court and the citation in the table of cases in a brief shall include a reference to the volume and page number of the South Dakota Reports or North Western Reporter in which the opinion is published. Subsequent citations within the brief, document, or memorandum shall include the page number and sufficient references to identify the initial citation.
(2) The initial citation of any published opinion of the Supreme Court released on or after January 1, 1996, in a brief, memorandum, or other document filed with the Court and the citation in the table of cases in a brief shall include a reference to the calendar year in which the decision was announced, the Court designation of "SD", and a sequential number assigned by the Clerk of the Supreme Court. Citation to specific portions of the opinion shall be made to the paragraph number assigned by the Clerk of the Supreme Court. A paragraph citation should be placed immediately following the sequential number assigned to the case. Subsequent citations within the brief, document, or memorandum shall include the paragraph number and sufficient references to identify the initial citation.
When available, initial citations shall include the volume and initial page number of the North Western Reporter in which the opinion is published.