Title 12 — ELECTIONS

Any person committing the offense of bribery of voters or receiving a bribe as specified in §§ 12-26-15 and 12-26-16 is guilty of an infamous crime, and any person convicted thereof shall, in addition to the criminal punishment, forfeit any office to which he may have been electe…

12-26-19 Betting with intent to procure challenge as misdemeanor. 12-26-20

Any person who shall directly or indirectly make a bet with a voter depending upon the result of any election, with the intent thereby to procure the challenge of such voter or to prevent his voting at an election, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SL 1891, ch 58 , § 3;…

12-26-3 False representation to register or vote--Knowing allowance--Penalty--Exclusion. 12-26-4 Voting or offer to vote by unqualified person--Penalty. 12-26-5

12-26-21 Disobedience of precinct superintendent or precinct deputy as misdemeanor. 12-26-22 Disturbance of election proceedings as misdemeanor. 12-26-23 Tampering with ballots, ballot box, or poll list as felony. 12-26-23.1 Tampering with automatic ballot counting devices, direc…

A person who intentionally disobeys a lawful command of a precinct superintendent or precinct deputy of any election, given in the execution of the person's duty as such at an election, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SDC 1939, § 13.0923; SL 1982, ch 86 , § 125; SL 19…

No person may cause any disturbance or breach of the peace, or engage in disorderly conduct in violation of § 22-18-35 , or use threats of violence, whereby an election is impeded or hindered, or whereby the lawful proceedings of the precinct superintendent or precinct deputies, …

A person who intentionally breaks, destroys, steals, or conceals any ballot box or any poll list used or intended to be used at any election, or who, before the ballots have been counted or canvassed, or during the time within which a contest or recount may be instituted or is pe…

No person may intentionally program or alter an automatic ballot counting device, direct recording electronic voting machine, or electronic ballot marking system to erroneously mark, record, or count voted ballots or to render an erroneous total. A violation of this section is a …

A precinct superintendent or precinct deputy who intentionally excludes any vote duly tendered, knowing that the person offering the same is lawfully entitled to vote at the election, is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. Source: SDC 1939, § 13.0926; SL 1974, ch 118 , § 198; SL 198…

No precinct superintendent, precinct deputy, member of any counting board, member of any board of canvassers, messenger, or other officer authorized to take part in or perform any duty in relation to any count, canvass, or official statement of the votes cast at any election, may…

12-26-27 Bribery of election official as misdemeanor. 12-26-28 Offenses relating to election on submitted question. 12-26-29 Prevention of unlawful election not prohibited. 12-26-30 Irregularities in proceedings not a defense. 12-26-31 Offender as witness against another--Compell…

A person who gives or offers a bribe to any precinct superintendent, precinct deputy, canvasser, or other officer of an election as a consideration for doing or omitting to do any act in violation of the person's official duty in relation to such election, is guilty of a Class 2 …

Every act which by the provisions of this chapter is made criminal when committed with reference to the election of a candidate is equally criminal when committed with reference to the determination of a question submitted to voters to be decided by votes cast at an election. Sou…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize the punishment of any person who, by authority of law, may interfere to prevent or regulate an election which has been unlawfully noticed or convened, or is being, or is about to be, unlawfully conducted. Source: PenC 1877, …

An individual is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if the individual: (1) Knowingly makes a false statement or representation to register as a voter or cast a ballot at an election; or (2) Is in the presence of and knowingly allows another individual to make a false statement or re…

Irregularities or defects in the mode of noticing, convening, holding, or conducting an election authorized by law, form no defense to a prosecution for a violation of the provisions of this chapter. Source: PenC 1877, § 91; CL 1887, § 6291; RPenC 1903, § 96; RC 1919, § 3680; SDC…

A person offending against any provision of this title is a competent witness against another person so offending, and may be compelled to attend and testify upon any trial, hearing, proceeding, or investigation, in the same manner as any other person. But the testimony so given …

Terms used in §§ 12-26-32 to 12-26-37 , inclusive, mean: (1) "Artificial intelligence," any machine-based system that, for any explicit or implicit objective, infers from the inputs received by the system how to generate content, decisions, predictions, recommendations, or other …

No person, with the intent to injure a candidate, may disseminate a deepfake or enter into a contract or other agreement to disseminate a deepfake, within ninety days of an election, if the person knows or reasonably should know the item being disseminated is a deepfake and does …

Section 12-26-33 does not apply: (1) If the deepfake constitutes satire or parody; (2) To a radio or television broadcasting system, or cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer that: (a) Broadcasts a deepfake as part of a bona fide newscast, news interview,…

The attorney general, a candidate who is injured or likely to be injured by the dissemination of a deepfake in violation of § 12-26-33 , or the individual depicted in a deepfake disseminated in violation of § 12-26-33 may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the …

A person who disseminates a deepfake in violation of § 12-26-33 is liable to the candidate and the individual depicted in the deepfake for damages, reasonable costs and attorney fees, and any other relief the court deems proper. The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing the …

It is an affirmative defense for any action brought pursuant to §§ 12-26-32 to 12-26-37 , inclusive, that the deepfake includes a disclosure stating: "This (image/video/audio) has been manipulated or generated by artificial intelligence." For an image or video recording, the text…

An individual is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if the individual: (1) Knows that the individual is not a qualified voter of this state; and (2) Votes or offers to vote at any election held in this state. Source: PenC 1877, § 65; CL 1887, § 6264; RPenC 1903, § 69; RC 1919, § 365…

12-26-6

12-26-7 Impersonation of registered voter--Penalty. 12-26-8 Voting more than once at any election--Penalty. 12-26-9 Good faith defense to prosecution for illegal voting. 12-26-10 Threats or intimidation to prevent public assembly of electors as misdemeanor--Hindering attendance a…

An individual is guilty of a Class 6 felony if the individual: (1) Impersonates a registered voter; and (2) Votes or offers to vote at any election held in this state. Source: PenC 1877, § 71; CL 1887, § 6271; RPolC 1903, § 2034; RPenC 1903, § 76; RC 1919, § 3663; SDC 1939, § 13.…

An individual is guilty of a Class 6 felony if the individual: (1) After having voted in this state, votes or offers to vote in the same or in another election precinct in this state; or (2) After having voted in another state or territory, votes or offers to vote in this state. …

Upon any prosecution for procuring, offering, or casting an illegal vote, the accused may give in evidence any facts tending to show that he honestly believed upon good reason that the vote complained of was a lawful one; and the jury may take such facts into consideration in det…

Terms used in this chapter mean: (1) "Ballot question," any referendum, initiative, proposed constitutional amendment, or other measure submitted to voters at any election; (2) "Ballot question committee," a person or entity that raises, collects, or disburses contributions: (a) …

A political party 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 political par…

All political action committees established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the same person or entity, including any parent, subsidiary, branch, division, department, or local unit of the person or entity, are affiliated and share a single contribution limit under § 12-27…

A candidate or political committee may not accept a loan from a person if the principal of which, or any combination of the principal and contributions made by the person, exceeds the limit to the amount of money that the candidate or political committee may accept as a contribut…

No person, entity, candidate, or political committee may give or accept a contribution unless the name, mailing address, city and state of the contributor is made known to the person, entity, candidate, or political committee receiving the contribution. In addition to any other i…

No person or entity may make a contribution in the name of another person or entity, make a contribution disguised as a gift, make a contribution in a fictitious name, make a contribution on behalf of another person or entity, or knowingly permit another to use that person's or e…

Equipment, supplies, and materials purchased with contributions are property of the political committee and are not property of the candidate or any other person. Source: SL 2007, ch 80 , § 13; SL 2017, ch 222 (Initiated Measure 22), § 14, eff. Nov. 16, 2016; SL 2017, ch 72 , § 1…

The sale of any property by a political committee shall be reported in the campaign finance disclosure statement. A violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Source: SL 2007, ch 80 , § 14; SL 2018, ch 84 , § 5.

The following apply to independent communication expenditures by persons and entities related to communications concerning candidates, public office holders, ballot questions, or political parties who are not controlled by, coordinated with, requested by, or made upon consultatio…

Any political committee, entity, or person that makes a communication clearly identifying a candidate, public office holder, ballot question, or political committee, other than an independent communication expenditure that is not controlled by, coordinated with, requested by, or …

An entity may make independent communication expenditures regarding the placement of one or more ballot questions on the ballot or the adoption or defeat of one or more ballot questions. Any entity making expenditures, equal to or exceeding fifty percent of the entity's annual gr…

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…

Source: SL 2019, ch 237 (Initiated Measure 24), § 1, approved Nov. 6, 2018; SL 2024, ch 16 , § 11.

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 the following campaign finance disclosure statements with the secretary of state: (1) For a candidate or candidate campaign committee for any statewide office: (a) A pre-primary statement; (b) A pre-general statement;…

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…