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26.731.20 101st Legislative Session 171
2026 South Dakota Legislature
Senate Bill 171
ENROLLED
AN ACT
ENTITLED An Act to amend provisions pertaining to the processing of absentee
ballots and to declare an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA:
Section 1. That § 12-19-10 be AMENDED:
12-19-10. Upon receipt of the sealed return envelope containing the voted ballots,
the person in charge of the election or their designee shall mark the date of receipt on the
envelope. The person in charge of the election shall keep the absentee ballot in a safe
place without opening the envelope or breaking the seal thereof, and shall deliver it to the
superintendent of the voter's home precinct, or to the absentee ballot counting board as
provided in § 12-19-42. The person in charge of the election shall have the absentee
ballots delivered with the election supplies, or if received later, then prior to the close of
the polls.
If the person in charge of the election creates an absentee ballot precinct, pursuant
to § 12-19-37, the person in charge of the election must deliver to the superintendent of
each precinct, the list containing the names of each voter who voted by absentee ballot
along with the election supplies. On election day, the person in charge of the election shall
forward to a precinct superintendent any updates to the list of voters who voted by
absentee ballot upon receipt of an absentee ballot.
If the precinct election board is not otherwise engaged in official duties, or if there
are absentee ballots not processed when the polls close, immediately thereafter, the board
must carefully compare the statement on the reverse side of the official retu rn envelope
with the written application received from the officer in charge of the election without
opening or breaking the seal of the return envelope. The board shall omit the comparison
of the statement and the application if the ballot is contained in a combined absentee
ballot application form and return envelope.
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The precinct election board or the precinct counting board shall enter the voter's
name in the election pollbook and mark the registration list whether:
(1) The ballot received was voted by the voter whose name appears on the statement;
(2) The voter is registered in the precinct and has not previously voted in that precinct
at the election; and
(3) The written application and statement were both signed by the voter.
The board shall then open the envelope without opening, unfolding, or examining
the ballots the envelope may contain; stamp the ballots with the official stamp; and
deposit the ballots with the other ballots cast at the election. If the board determines that
an absentee ballot envelope cannot be opened because the envelope does not meet the
requirements for opening, the reason for not opening the envelope must be written on the
envelope, accompanied by the signature of a member of the board, and the envelope must
be placed in a larger envelope for unopened absentee ballots.
It is a Class 2 misdemeanor for an individual, prior to the counting of the votes, to
open, unfold, or examine any ballot, or make any communication to any other individual
concerning the markings or contents of the ballot, or to create any record associat ing an
individual voter with a ballot.
Section 2. That § 12-19-37 be AMENDED:
12-19-37. The person in charge of the election may create an absentee ballot
precinct. Except as otherwise provided by this section, if the person in charge of the
election creates an absentee ballot precinct, all absentee ballots cast at the election must
be forwarded to the absentee ballot precinct for counting.
If the person in charge of the election creates an absentee ballot precinct, the
person in charge of the election shall create a pollbook using the data provided in the
electronic voter registration system, listing the name of each voter who voted by absentee
ballot in the jurisdiction and the type of ballot the voter cast.
The election board of the absentee ballot precinct is the absentee ballot counting
board. There may be only one absentee ballot counting board at any time in a county.
Section 3. That § 12-19-41 be AMENDED:
12-19-41. Except as otherwise specified in §§ 12-19-37 to 12-19-52, inclusive,
the powers and duties of an absentee ballot counting board are the same as those of
precinct election officials in a regular precinct polling place.
An absentee counting board shall:
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(1) Receive, from the person in charge of the election, all absentee ballots for all
precincts in the jurisdiction of the person in charge of the election; and
(2) Process and count each absentee ballot received from the person in charge of the
election.
Section 4. That § 12-19-43 be AMENDED:
12-19-43. If in the judgment of the person in charge of the election it is necessary
to convene the absentee counting board prior to the closing of the polls on election day,
the person in charge of the election may direct the board to meet during regular business
hours on the day before the election and on election day prior to the closing of the polls
for the purpose of processing absentee ballots, pursuant to § 12-19-10. If the person in
charge of the election convenes the absentee counting board on the day before the
election, the board may only process the absentee ballots, as provided in § 12-19-10, and
may not manually count any ballots or use the automatic tabulating equipment to count
the ballots.
The absentee ballots may be counted by the automatic tabulating equipment on
election day, prior to the closing of the polls, provided that any vote totals are not printed
or displayed by any tabulating machine prior to the closing of the polls. The absent ee
ballot counting board may not manually count the absentee ballots prior to the closing of
the polls.
If ballots are processed by an automatic tabulating machine prior to the closing of
the polls, the resolution board shall be present and notification of such processing shall be
provided to each county party chairperson at least ten days before the election.
Section 5. That § 12-19-44 be AMENDED:
12-19-44. The process of sorting, validating, processing, and counting absentee
ballots must be open to poll watchers for the purpose of observing the process.
A poll watcher shall keep a reasonable distance from ballots and identification
information to protect the privacy of absentee voters. No record associating an individual
voter with a ballot may be created.
A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Section 6. That § 12-19-45 be AMENDED:
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12-19-45. The person in charge of the election shall preserve a record of the
name, post office address, and voting precinct of each applicant for an absentee ballot
and shall personally deliver the record to the absentee ballot counting board. The person
in charge of the election shall keep a record of the name of the authorized messenger
requesting an absentee ballot to be delivered to another voter.
Section 7. That § 12-19-46 be AMENDED:
12-19-46. If the absentee ballot counting board did not begin to process or
tabulate the absentee ballots on election day prior to the closing of the polls, pursuant to
§ 12-19-43, the board must immediately, upon the close of the polls, commence:
(1) Processing each absentee ballot, pursuant to § 12-19-10; and
(2) Counting the absentee ballots.
Section 8. That § 12-19-47 be REPEALED.
Section 9. Whereas, this Act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace,
health, or safety, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this Act shall be in full force
and effect from and after its passage and approval.
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An Act to amend provisions pertaining to the processing of absentee ballots and to declare an
emergency.
I certify that the attached Act originated in
the:
Senate as Bill No. 171
Secretary of the Senate
President of the Senate
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate
Speaker of the House
Attest:
Chief Clerk of the House
Senate Bill No. 171
File No. ____
Chapter No. ______
Received at this Executive Office
this _____ day of _____________,
2026 at ____________M.
By
for the Governor
The attached Act is hereby
approved this ________ day of
______________, A.D., 2026
Governor
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA,
ss.
Office of the Secretary of State
Filed ____________, 2026
at _________ o'clock __M.
Secretary of State
By
Asst. Secretary of State