Title 12, ELECTIONS

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to the election to party office and for the nominations of political and nonpolitical candidates for public offices except as may be otherwise provided. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 2; SDC 1939, § 16.0208; SL 1947, ch 84 ; SL 1973, ch 74 …

It shall be the duty of the secretary of state, as soon as the time for filing nominating petitions in his office has passed, immediately to certify to the several county auditors of the state the names of the persons in whose behalf nominating petitions have been filed in his of…

The form of the official primary election ballot shall be prescribed by the State Board of Elections. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 9; SDC 1939, § 16.0215; SL 1963, ch 107 , § 3; SL 1976, ch 105 , § 19.

No person shall be nominated under the provisions of this chapter for election to the office of Governor for a third successive term. Source: SDC 1939, § 16.0208 as added by SL 1947, ch 84 .

No person may vote a party ballot at any primary election unless the person is registered as a member of that political party in the precinct in which the person seeks to vote. Any political party in its constitution or bylaws may allow for participation in the party's primary el…

No person's name may appear on the primary election ballot as a candidate for nomination to more than one public office in the same election, except that a person may be the candidate for any public office and the office of President of the United States, vice president of the Un…

Any candidate for office in the State Legislature shall be a resident of the district for which he is a candidate at the time he signs his declaration of candidacy as required by this chapter. Source: SL 1990, ch 105 , § 1.

No person may sign a declaration of candidacy or be nominated as a political candidate for a party unless that person is a registered voter with that party affiliation. Source: SL 1998, ch 80 , § 1.

Except as otherwise provided by § 12-5-4 and chapter 12-9 , a candidate for nomination or election to any office, other than a presidential election, may not have the candidate's name printed on the official primary election ballot of the candidate's political party, unless a pet…

No petition or certificate of nomination covered by this chapter may be circulated prior to the first day of January of the year in which the election will be held. Source: SL 1977, ch 108 , § 5; SL 2015, ch 77 , § 4 rejected Nov. 8, 2016.

The form of the nominating petition shall be prescribed by the State Board of Elections. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 5; SDC 1939, § 16.0210; SL 1939, ch 75 ; SL 1957, ch 83 , § 1; SL 1961, ch 93 , § 1; SL 1976, ch 105 , § 15.

Any candidate for a party nomination to public office, who receives the highest number of votes cast by the voters of his party for the office for which he is a candidate, shall be declared the nominee of his party. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 39; SDC 1939, § 16.0234.

If no candidate for United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, or Governor in a race involving three or more candidates receives thirty-five percent of the votes of the candidate's party, a runoff election shall be held eight weeks from the date of the first pr…

Within twenty-four hours after the completion of the canvass, the secretary of state shall certify runoff candidates, listed in the order determined by a drawing of names, to all county auditors. Source: SL 1985, ch 110 , § 1F; SL 1999, ch 72 , § 2; SL 2008, ch 34 , § 9.

Any candidate for party precinct committeeman, or committeewoman, or delegate to the state convention, who received the highest number of votes, shall be declared elected to the office for which he is a candidate. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 39; SDC 1939, § 16.0234; SL 1963, ch 1…

Any person nominated to any elective office may cause that person's name to be withdrawn from nomination by request in writing, subscribed and sworn to by that person before any officer qualified to administer oaths and take acknowledgments. The request shall be filed with the of…

If a vacancy occurs by reason of death or withdrawal after a primary election, a party candidate for public office may be chosen if a meeting of the appropriate party central committee is held and the results are certified to the appropriate official within the times prescribed b…

To fill a vacancy for a party candidate to a : (1) State office or as a presidential elector, the party State Central Committee chairman shall call a central committee meeting to fill the vacancy, and designate the time and place where the meeting shall be held; (2) Multi-county …

Sections 12-6-56 and 12-6-57 shall also apply to the selection of candidates to be voted on at any special election to fill congressional vacancies pursuant to chapter 12-11 . Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 56; SDC 1939, § 16.0243; SL 1968, ch 77 ; SL 1973, ch 74 , § 13.

Two or more candidates for delegates to the state convention of the party may be included in one nominating petition. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 4; SL 1931, ch 145 ; SDC 1939, § 16.0210; SL 1939, ch 75 ; SL 1957, ch 83 , § 1; SL 1961, ch 93 , § 1; SL 1973, ch 74 , § 4; SL 2021, …

The laws of this state pertaining to primary elections shall be liberally construed so that the real will of the voters may not be defeated by a mere technicality. Source: SL 1929, ch 118 , § 58; SDC 1939, § 16.0248.

Notwithstanding any other provisions, if a candidate has been defeated in a primary election for office in the Legislature, the candidate may not run for that office under the affiliation of a different political party in the same election year as the primary election. Source: SL…

A nominating petition may be composed of several sheets, each sheet shall have identical headings printed at the top and shall be a self-contained sheet of paper. The petition for a candidate for the Legislature shall designate the senatorial or representative district number and…

An individual may not sign the nominating petition of a candidate: (1) Before January first in the year in which the election is to be held; (2) For whom the person is not entitled to vote; (3) For a political candidate of a party of which the person is not a member; or (4) For m…

Any candidate may withdraw the candidate's name from the primary election by making a written request under oath. The candidate shall file the request with the officer with whom the nominating petition was filed pursuant to § 12-6-4 , before five p.m. local time, on the first Thu…

A candidate for nomination to an office, or election to a party office, having no opposing candidate within his party, shall automatically become the nominee of his party or elected party official for said office, and his name shall not be printed on the primary election ballot. …