Title 12, ELECTIONS

Any person entitled to vote at any election held within this state, including a primary election, shall, on the day of such election, be entitled to absent himself from any service or employment in which he is then engaged or employed for a period of two consecutive hours between…

Whenever the United States Department of Justice and the United States Census Bureau, acting pursuant to Public Law 94-73, designate any county in South Dakota to be covered under the provisions of the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975, the county so designated shall be govern…

The state's attorney of any affected county is hereby authorized to bring appropriate proceedings, pursuant to Public Law 94-73, to exempt the entire county from the provisions of that act. Source: SL 1976, ch 104 , § 7.

Sections 12-3-6 to 12-3-13 , inclusive, shall apply to all elections held within the affected counties designated pursuant to § 12-3-6 , and the person in charge of such elections shall be responsible for the implementation of such sections. Source: SL 1976, ch 104 , § 3.

The Legislature finds that the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota dialects of the Sioux language are "historically" unwritten languages and are defined as such by the provisions of Public Law 94-73. Source: SL 1976, ch 104 , § 2.

An individual is entitled to register as a voter of this state if the individual: (1) Is a citizen of the United States and has provided sufficient evidence, as set forth in § 12-4-1.4 , to demonstrate the individual's citizenship; (2) Is a resident, as defined in § 12-1-4 , of t…

The voter registration form must include a certification of voter eligibility by which the applicant attests, under the penalty of perjury, that the applicant: (1) Is a citizen of the United States; (2) Will be eighteen years or older on or before the next election; (3) Is a resi…

A county auditor must designate an individual as a federal voter if: (1) At the time the individual applies to register as a voter or to vote by absentee ballot, the individual provides only the address of a commercial mail receiving agency, mail forwarding service, or other post…

Any individual applying to register as a voter shall provide documentation, along with the application, to demonstrate that the individual is a United States citizen. The individual shall present: (1) The individual's South Dakota driver license or nondriver identification card, …

The county auditor shall provide from the master registration file, in paper or electronic format, a separate list of the names and addresses of all registered voters in each voting precinct as established pursuant to chapter 12-14 , § 9-13-16 , or 13-7-11 in the county, which sh…

Whenever so requested, the county auditor shall furnish to the clerk of the United States District Court for the district of South Dakota, at no cost to the county, the current precinct registration lists or certified copies thereof referred to in § 12-4-10 for all election preci…

If the boundaries of any election precinct are changed, the county auditor shall immediately change the registration file to correctly show the names and the other relevant voting information required upon registration of the voters who are residents of the election precinct. Sou…

Any new registrant previously registered elsewhere shall be required to sign an authorization which shall be forwarded by the registration official to the auditor of the county of former registration, or other appropriate registration official, who shall remove the registrant's n…

A person may designate or change that person's party affiliation, name, address, phone number, or email address by completing a new registration card. If a person completes a registration card to change that person's name, address, phone number, or email address, and leaves the f…

The clerk of courts shall, within fifteen days after the close of each month, prepare an abstract from the records of the names of persons declared mentally incompetent in the preceding month. The clerk of courts shall send the name of a person declared mentally incompetent to th…

Any voter in the active registration file who has failed to vote, has not updated the voter's registration information, and has not replied to a confirmation mailing at least once during the last preceding four consecutive years shall be sent a nonforwardable return-if-undelivera…

The confirmation mailing notice shall be a double postcard stating that the voter's registration may be canceled if the card is not returned. In addition, the card shall state that if the information on the return card is correct, the voter must sign and return the card within th…

If the card is not returned to the county auditor within the stated time limit or is undeliverable, the county auditor shall move the voter to an inactive registration file. Source: SL 1975, ch 120 , § 3; SL 1976, ch 105 , § 10; SL 1992, ch 107 , § 4; SL 1994, ch 107 , § 22; SL 2…

If a voter placed in the inactive registration file does not vote by the second general election following the confirmation mailing, the registration shall be canceled. This determination shall be made between January first and November fifteenth of every odd - numbered year. Sou…

The national change of address notice shall be sent by forwarding service requested to each voter in the active registration file who has failed to vote, has not updated the voter's registration information, has not replied to a confirmation mailing at least once during the last …

The voter registration list maintenance confirmation mailing notice shall be a double postcard stating that the voter's registration may be canceled if the card is not returned. In addition, the card shall state that if the information on the return card is correct, the voter sha…

The county auditor has complete charge of maintaining and safeguarding the voter registration records in the county. The county auditor shall retain all voter registration records in the auditor's office in paper or electronic form. Except as provided in §§ 12-4-9 , 12-4-9.2 , an…

The county auditor shall complete and make available to the official charged with the conduct of a local election at least one day preceding the election a precinct registration list and the person in charge of the election shall deliver the list to each of the superintendents of…

The county auditor shall provide mail registration cards along with instructions on how to properly register voters to private entities and individuals. Each private entity or individual shall provide information to the voter being registered on how the voter may contact such pri…

Any private entity or individual registering a person to vote shall file the completed registration form with the county auditor within ten days or by the next voter registration deadline, whichever occurs first. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 20…

Sections 4 to 8, inclusive, of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 apply to all elections in South Dakota which require voter registration. Source: SL 1994, ch 107 , § 32.

The secretary of state is the chief state election official pursuant to section 10 of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Source: SL 1994, ch 107 , § 33.

If a statute refers to registered voters, it does not include those in the inactive registration file unless specifically included. Any voter in the inactive registration file may sign a petition. Source: SL 1994, ch 107 , § 34; SL 2002, ch 40 , § 14; SL 2010, ch 74 , § 9; SL 202…

The State Board of Elections may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 necessary for implementation of the National Voter Registration Act. Source: SL 1994, ch 107 , § 35.

There is a rebuttable presumption that the signer of a petition filed pursuant to chapter 2-1 , 6-16 , 7-18A , 9-13 , 9-20 , 12-6 , 12-7 , or 13-7 is not a qualified elector if the signer's name fails to appear on the active or inactive voter registration list of the county state…

The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a computerized system for maintaining and utilizing the voter registration file. Each county auditor shall transmit daily any changes to the master registration file or the absentee voter log to the secretary of state using the …

The secretary of state shall establish and maintain a rolling five-year historical archive of the complete statewide voter registration file, including the weekly post of the statewide voter registration file, published by the secretary pursuant to § 12-4-37 . The secretary shall…

The statewide voter registration file maintained by the secretary of state shall be considered a duplicate file of the official voter registration records held in each county office. If there is any discrepancy between the statewide voter registration file maintained by the secre…

The secretary of state shall promulgate rules, pursuant to chapter 1-26 , providing for: (1) The establishment and maintenance of the statewide voter registration file; (2) The transmission of the voter registration information from the county auditor to the secretary of state; (…

The secretary of state shall provide any absentee uniformed services and overseas voter information on voter registration procedures and how to vote absentee. Source: SL 2003, ch 83 , § 13.

If a voter is identified as being covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20301 et seq., as of January 1, 2023, the voter may register to vote through the system provided by the Office of the Secretary of State. Source: SL 2014, ch 72 , § 2…

Sections 12-4-4.2 to 12-4-4.9 , inclusive, implement the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20301 et seq., as of January 1, 2023. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 , § 2; SL 1996, ch 95 , § 1; SL 2023, ch 44 , § 3.

An "overseas citizen" is any person residing outside the territory of the United States of America including its territories and possessions, and who is a citizen of the United States. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 , § 3.

Any overseas citizen may register and vote in any federal, state, county, or local election held within South Dakota under the following conditions: (1) The overseas citizen, or the spouse or parent of the overseas citizen, was last domiciled in South Dakota immediately prior to …

The overseas citizen may register and vote absentee in the same county and election precinct in which the overseas citizen, or spouse or parent of the overseas citizen, resided immediately prior to leaving the United States. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 , § 5; SL 2011, ch 76 , § 2.

A request for an absentee ballot made by an overseas citizen that contains the information necessary to comply with §§ 12-4-4.4 and 12-4-4.5 shall be sufficient for registration purposes, and these applications need not be notarized or otherwise sworn to. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 …

The person in charge of the election shall expedite the processing of registrations and absentee ballot requests of overseas citizens. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 , § 6.

The State Board of Elections may promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26 for the implementation of §§ 12-4-4.2 to 12-4-4.9 , inclusive. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 , § 1.

All other provisions of law relating to elections shall apply to §§ 12-4-4.2 to 12-4-4.9 , inclusive. Source: SL 1977, ch 112 , § 7.

The secretary of state may use the statewide voter registration file to identify any duplicate voter registration within the state. If the secretary of state has determined that there is a duplicate voter registration, the secretary of state shall notify the county whose official…

The secretary of state may share information from the statewide voter registration file with any other state, territory, or local political subdivision of another state or territory to identify any duplicate registrations. Before sharing information from the statewide voter regis…