Title 12, ELECTIONS

A ballot question committee may accept unlimited contributions from a: (1) Person; (2) Entity that complies with § 12-27-19 ; (3) Political action committee; (4) Political party; (5) Candidate campaign committee; and (6) Ballot question committee. Source: SL 2008, ch 67 , § 16; S…

Before making a contribution to a ballot question committee pursuant to § 12-27-18 , an entity shall provide to the ballot question committee the following: (1) The name or fictitious name of the entity; (2) The mailing address of the entity's office; (3) The name and mailing add…

A political committee shall have and continually maintain a chair and a treasurer. One person may serve as chair, candidate, treasurer, or any combination thereof. A treasurer may be responsible for any monetary penalty assessed pursuant to this chapter. No political committee ma…

The state, an agency of the state, and the governing body of any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may not expend or permit the expenditure of public funds for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any candidate, or for the petit…

A candidate or political committee may not accept any contribution or loan from: (1) A state; (2) A state agency; (3) A political subdivision of a state; (4) A foreign government; (5) A foreign national, as defined in 52 U.S.C. § 30121(b) (January 1, 2026); (6) A federal agency; …

Each statement referred to § 12-27-22 shall be signed and submitted by the treasurer of the political committee. The statement shall be received by the secretary of state and submitted by 5:00 p.m. central time on the following dates: (1) Pre-primary report: fifteen days prior to…

The treasurer of a political committee listed below shall file a campaign finance disclosure statement or a report with the secretary of state as follows: (1) For a candidate or candidate campaign committee for any statewide office, file a pre-primary, pre-general, year-end, and,…

No campaign finance disclosure report is required to be submitted by a political committee that regularly submits a campaign finance disclosure report with another state or the Federal Election Commission or a report of contributions and expenditures with the Internal Revenue Ser…

If a political committee treasurer is required to file a report with the secretary of state, the report may only include contributions and expenditures related to this state. Source: SL 2017, ch 71 , § 25.

A campaign finance disclosure report must include the following: (1) The political committee name, mailing address, telephone number, and, if applicable, e-mail address; (2) Name, mailing address, telephone number, and, if applicable, an e-mail address, if any, of the political c…

The last campaign finance report filed shall be a termination report. The termination report shall be filed by the treasurer within thirty days following disposition of all funds and property and the payment of all obligations. If a termination pursuant to § 12-27-29.2 occurs, th…

A political committee may not dissolve until the political committee has settled all of its debts, disposed of all of its assets, and filed a termination statement. Source: SL 2007, ch 80 , § 26.

Any treasurer or other person filing a statement or report pursuant to this chapter, shall file an amended statement or report within seven days of discovering any omission, inaccuracy, or other change necessary to make the statement or report accurate. A person responsible for f…

If any political committee required to file a campaign finance disclosure report pursuant to this chapter receives a contribution of five hundred dollars or more within the twenty days immediately prior to an election for which a campaign finance disclosure report may be filed, a…

The treasurer of a political committee shall maintain and preserve detailed and accurate records of the following: (1) Each contribution received by the political committee. Any contribution of one hundred dollars or less must be noted on the political committee's books and a run…

In addition to any other penalty or relief provided under this chapter, the secretary of state, may impose a civil penalty for the failure to timely file any statement, amendment, or correction required to be filed by this chapter. The civil penalty is two hundred dollars for eac…

Any civil penalty imposed pursuant to § 12-27-29.1 shall be assessed against the violator by an order of the secretary of state. The order shall state the date and facts of each violation addressed under the penalty assessed and the citations to the provisions of each law alleged…

No candidate who is listed on a statement of organization for a candidate campaign committee pursuant to §§ 12-27-3 and 12-27-6 may be certified as a candidate for office unless the treasurer of the candidate campaign committee for which the candidate is listed has: (1) Filed all…

In addition to any penalty that may be imposed on a person pursuant to § 12-27-29.1 , if the secretary of state finds that any person has failed to perform any duty imposed on that person by this chapter, that person may be assessed an additional penalty not to exceed two hundred…

If a candidate is not the treasurer of the candidate's campaign committee, the penalty of a candidate being decertified, pursuant to this chapter, remains. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, a candidate is jointly and severally responsible with the treasurer of the cand…

A statement of organization shall be filed as follows: (1) The treasurer for a political action committee shall file a statement of organization with the secretary of state not later than fifteen days after the date upon which the committee made contributions, received contributi…

Notwithstanding the provisions of § 12-25-33 , the failure to timely file any statement, amendment, or correction with any county, township, municipality, school district, or special purpose district covered by this chapter pursuant to § 12-27-39 or covered by local ordinance or …

The secretary of state shall adopt forms for statements of organization and campaign finance disclosure statements. Each person filing a statement of organization or campaign finance disclosure statement shall subscribe to an oath or affirmation verifying that the contents of the…

The secretary of state shall endorse the date of the filing on each statement filed pursuant to this chapter, and shall preserve the statement electronically among the public records of the office. However, the statement may be destroyed if the Records Destruction Board, acting p…

No information copied, or otherwise obtained, from any statement or report, or copy, reproduction, or publication thereof, filed with the secretary of state, county auditor, or other person in charge of conducting the election under this chapter may be sold or utilized by any per…

Any person who intentionally makes any false, fraudulent, or misleading statement or entry in any statement of organization, campaign finance disclosure statement, other statement, or amendment filed pursuant to this chapter is guilty of a Class 5 felony. Source: SL 2007, ch 80 ,…

The attorney general shall investigate and prosecute any violation of the provisions of this chapter relating to a legislative office, statewide office, or political committee and prosecute any violation thereof. In lieu of bringing a criminal action, the attorney general may ele…

The attorney general may, for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this chapter, inspect or examine any political committee records required to be maintained by this chapter. Any person having charge, control, or possession of political committee records who neglects or ref…

The attorney general shall keep each record inspected or examined confidential except when the records are used to enforce provisions of this chapter associated with a criminal or civil action. Source: SL 2007, ch 80 , § 37; SL 2017, ch 222 (Initiated Measure 22), § 27, eff. Nov.…

If any candidate is proved in a contest of an election to have violated any provision of this chapter punishable by a felony, the candidate may not be certified for election or the candidate shall forfeit his or her office. The office shall be declared vacant and shall be filled …

The provisions of this chapter apply to each statewide office, legislative office, statewide ballot question, county offices and ballot questions in counties with population greater than ten thousand according to the most recent Federal census, ballot questions in first class mun…

The state's attorney shall investigate any violation of the provisions of this chapter relating to elections for county and school district office or county, municipal, or school district ballot questions, and prosecute any violation thereof. In lieu of bringing a criminal action…

Any statement required to be filed under this chapter may be filed by electronic transmission in accordance with the methods approved by the secretary of state. To be timely filed, any statement received by electronic transmission shall be legible and readable when received by th…

Any statement, form, or filing required by this chapter shall be filed with the secretary of state in the case of a statewide office or legislative office election. Any statement, form, or filing required by this chapter shall be filed with the county auditor in the case of a cou…

The attorney general may bring an action for a civil penalty against any person, political committee, political party, or organization that violates § 12-27-16 or 12-27-17 , in addition to any other penalties provided by law. The civil penalty may not exceed two thousand dollars …

Nothing is this chapter prevents any political subdivision from adopting additional standards or requirements relating to campaign finance for elections held under the political subdivision's own jurisdiction that are more stringent than the provisions of this title. Source: SL 2…

Any person may file with the secretary of state a sworn affidavit alleging a violation of the campaign finance requirements under this chapter. A sworn affidavit alleging any misconduct, breach of statutory duty, or malfeasance shall be signed and sworn to by the affiant, fully s…

Any resident of South Dakota may report a violation of § 12-27-12 , 12-27-16 (1), or 12-27-19 to the secretary of state, who shall investigate the alleged violation and determine whether a violation occurred. In addition to any criminal penalty imposed under § 12-27-12 , 12-27-16…

Any person who knowingly makes a false allegation pursuant to § 12-27-47 , 23-3-72 , or 23-3-73 is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 2017, ch 73 , § 7; SL 2018, ch 84 , § 12.

The Office of the Secretary of State's duty to file a document under this chapter is ministerial. If the Office of the Secretary of State files or refuses to file a document, it does not: (1) Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in whole or part; (2) Relate to the co…

Contributions received by a candidate campaign committee may only be used for: (1) A purpose related to a candidate's campaign; (2) Expenses incident to being a public official or former public official; or (3) Donations to any other candidate, political committee, or nonprofit c…

Prior to bringing a charge against any person who is subject to a Class 2 misdemeanor under this chapter, the agent of the state who is bringing the charge shall provide the person with a period, not in excess of seven days, during which the person may cure the violation. Source:…

The statement of organization shall include: (1) The name, mailing address, and street address if different than the mailing address, and telephone number of the committee; (2) The name, mailing address, and street address if different than the mailing address, and telephone numb…

A statewide candidate or the candidate's campaign committee may accept contributions during any calendar year as follows: (1) Not to exceed four thousand dollars from a person, unless the person is the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family, in which case contr…

A legislative or county candidate or the candidate's campaign committee may accept contributions during any calendar year as follows: (1) Not to exceed one thousand dollars from a person, unless the person is the candidate or a member of the candidate's immediate family, in which…

A political action committee may accept contributions during any calendar year as follows: (1) Not to exceed ten thousand dollars from a person; (2) Not to exceed ten thousand dollars from an entity; (3) Without limit from a political action committee; (4) Without limit from a po…