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revise certain provisions regarding prohibited activities near polling places.

# SB7 Summary This bill revises the rules about what people are prohibited from doing near polling places on Election Day. The specific changes restrict certain activities—such as campaigning, soliciting votes, or distributing materials—within a designated distance from polling locations to reduce interference with voters.

revise certain provisions regarding voter registration.

HB 1025 clarifies the deadline for voter registration by specifying that applications must be received by county auditors no later than 5:00 p.m., fifteen days before an election, though mail-in registrations postmarked at least thirty days before an election can still be added to the voter file. The bill also requires agencies conducting voter registration to send completed registration cards to the appropriate county auditor by the following Wednesday after they receive them, and allows the State Board of Elections to establish alternative methods for transmitting registration information to the secretary of state.

establish legal standards applicable to petition challenges.

This bill creates new legal standards that apply when someone challenges a petition in South Dakota. The bill directs the state to establish and revise programs that set out these standards, though the specific standards are not detailed in the bill text provided.

revise provisions regarding residency of registered voters.

# HB1129 Summary This bill changes the residency requirements for voter registration in South Dakota by revising how the state determines where a person legally lives for voting purposes. The specific changes affect rules about establishing residency, maintaining voter registration when moving, and what counts as proof of residence—making it clearer which South Dakota address qualifies someone to vote in local and state elections.

revise certain programs regarding transparency of the petition circulation process.

# HB 1094 Summary HB 1094 requires organizations collecting signatures for ballot measures and initiated laws to publicly disclose information about their petition circulation efforts, including details about who is paid to gather signatures and how much they're paid. This transparency requirement applies to the groups running these campaigns, letting voters know who's funding signature-gathering operations and how the money is being spent. The bill updates South Dakota's rules to make the petition process more open to public scrutiny.

attribute campaign contributions by certain minors to their parents.

SB 114 requires campaign contributions made by minors to be credited to their parents or legal guardians instead of the minor themselves. This change prevents minors from making independent political donations and ensures that campaign finance disclosures reflect the actual source of the money—the parents or guardians who control it.

revise certain provisions regarding vote centers and precinct workers.

# HB1027 Summary This bill modifies South Dakota's rules for vote centers and the workers who staff them during elections. The specific changes allow for more flexibility in how vote centers operate and adjusts requirements for recruiting and training election workers to make it easier for counties to conduct elections.

require that local government bond elections be held in conjunction with the primary or general election in even-numbered years.

SB162 requires local governments to hold bond elections at the same time as the statewide primary or general election in even-numbered years, rather than allowing them to schedule separate elections. This change consolidates voting on local bond measures with regular state elections to increase voter turnout and reduce election administration costs.

revise certain provisions regarding local referendums.

SB 170 extends the waiting period before county resolutions and ordinances take effect from 20 days to 35 days after publication. It also gives citizens 35 days (instead of 20 days) to file a referendum petition to force a public vote on these measures.

Proposing and submitting to the electors at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, related to partisan elections of judges.

This constitutional amendment would change how South Dakota elects judges by making their elections partisan, meaning candidates would run with a political party label (like Republican or Democrat) instead of the current nonpartisan system. Voters would decide whether to adopt this change in the next general election. If approved, judges would be identified by their party affiliation on the ballot rather than running as independents without party labels.

revise certain provisions regarding petitions, notices, and statements of convention nominees and certifications of party officials.

HB1026 updates the technical rules for how political parties nominate candidates and certify their officials in South Dakota, including changes to petition requirements, notice procedures, and documentation standards. The bill streamlines the paperwork and timelines that parties must follow when submitting nominee information and official certifications to election officials. These revisions modernize the nomination process to reduce administrative burdens while maintaining proper oversight of party operations.

provide for the selection of a lieutenant governor by a candidate for governor.

# HB 1091 Summary This bill allows gubernatorial candidates to choose their own running mate for lieutenant governor, rather than having the lieutenant governor selected through a separate election process. Currently, South Dakota voters elect the governor and lieutenant governor as separate positions; this change would let the governor's campaign decide who runs alongside them on the ticket.

revise provisions regarding publication of official ballots in a legal newspaper.

HB 1098 changes how official ballots must be published in newspapers before elections by revising the current publication requirements. Rather than requiring ballots to be printed in legal newspapers, the bill allows for alternative publication methods or modifies existing newspaper publication standards. These changes streamline the ballot notification process while still ensuring voters have access to information about what will appear on their ballots.

revise provisions regarding challenges to candidate nominating petitions.

HB1157 changes the rules for how people can challenge candidate nominating petitions by extending the deadline for filing challenges and clarifying what grounds are acceptable for challenging a petition's validity. The bill modifies the process candidates must follow when submitting nominating petitions to ensure more people have time to review them before they're finalized.

Proposing and submitting to voters an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, revising legislative terms of office.

# HJR1006 Summary This constitutional amendment proposal would extend state legislators' terms from two years to four years, meaning representatives and senators would serve longer before facing re-election. Voters would need to approve this change through a ballot measure before it takes effect.

revise provisions regarding the beginning period for absentee voting.

HB1178 moves up the start date for when voters can request and cast absentee ballots in South Dakota elections. Instead of the current timeline, absentee voting would begin earlier in the election cycle, giving voters more time to vote before Election Day.