STURGIS - Whether South Dakota's stricter smoking ban will be on the books anytime soon is still up in the air, and some in the city of Sturgis wonder how it could be enforced at all during the annual motorcycle rally, which draws hundreds of thousands of bikers to town.

The 2009 Legislature passed a law to ban smoking in bars, Deadwood casinos and video lottery establishments. The measure, extending a ban that has outlawed smoking in most workplaces and public areas since 2002, was to have taken effect July 1.

A coalition representing bars and gambling businesses submitted about 25,000 petition signatures on June 22 calling for a public vote, forestalling the ban until after the November 2010 general election.

But on July 2, the South Dakota Tobacco-Free Kids Network filed documents with the secretary of state's office alleging that nearly 39 percent of the signatures are invalid.

The secretary of state's office is checking all the signatures.

Putting the ban in place would mean enforcing the new rules with thousands of visiting bikers.

It's easy to get a table at the Phil Town Restaurant and Lounge in Sturgis now, but it will be a different story during the rally, which runs Aug. 3-9.

"There's pretty much nonstop activity in here. The restaurant opens at 6 a.m. and we stay open 'til about midnight," said owner Guy Edwards.

During the rally, Edwards said his business is so busy that it's hard to enforce all the rules. Adding a strengthened statewide smoking ban would make it almost impossible to keep his restaurant smoke free, he said.

"I'm a nonsmoker, so I really like it when people don't smoke. I just wish people didn't, but you know, it's a right," Edwards said.

He said he doesn't think it should be up to the state, or his business, to control smoking.

If the ban takes effect in time for the 2009 rally, Edwards said the biggest change will be in his staff's responsibilities. Along with waiting tables, they'd have to play police officer, he said.

"The only thing I can think of is my staff will probably have to have badges and guns," Edwards joked.