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clarify the requirements for marking an optical scan ballot.

This bill clarifies rules for marking optical scan ballots by requiring election officials to provide black ink pens to in-person voters and instruct absentee voters to use black ink pens. However, the bill also prevents election officials from rejecting ballots marked with other types of writing instruments, ensuring that voters who use pen colors or types other than black ink won't have their votes discarded.

amend provisions relating to an individual's status as a voter for municipal or school district elections.

HB 1110 updates voter eligibility rules for municipal and school district elections by replacing outdated language and clarifying residency requirements. The bill standardizes the definition of "resident" to include people who have lived in the municipality for at least 30 consecutive days per year, full-time students who previously lived there, and military members stationed there, while also specifying how residency can be challenged through existing election procedures.

amend the reasons for challenging an individual's eligibility to vote.

This bill limits the reasons someone can challenge a voter's eligibility to vote in South Dakota elections. Under this change, challenges can only question whether a voter has voted or registered in another state, is a resident of South Dakota, or is a U.S. citizen—removing any other grounds that may have previously been allowed. The bill also specifies who can file such challenges: the secretary of state, county auditors, or other registered voters in the same county, with challenges due at least 90 days before an election.

prohibit the use of paid petition circulators.

HB 1087 prohibits paid petition circulators from collecting signatures for ballot measures and constitutional amendments in South Dakota. The bill requires that anyone gathering signatures must be a registered South Dakota voter, effectively eliminating the practice of hiring professional signature-gathering companies to promote initiatives. This change applies to all types of petitions—constitutional amendments, initiated measures, and referrals.

require an election for an excess tax levy of a school district.

Currently, school districts can impose excess property tax levies with just a two-thirds vote of their school board, but this bill requires school districts to hold a public election before imposing or increasing an excess tax levy. The bill maintains existing rules about when districts must announce the tax increase in newspapers, but adds the requirement that voters must approve the excess levy through an election before it takes effect.

authorize the recall of county commissioners.

This bill creates a new process allowing voters to recall county commissioners from office before their terms end. A recall petition would need signatures from either 15% of registered voters in a commissioner's district (or 5% county-wide for at-large commissioners), and must allege grounds such as corruption, crimes in office, incompetency, misconduct, or theft.

authorize the recall of certain elected officials or individuals appointed to fill vacancies in certain offices.

This bill creates a new recall process allowing South Dakota voters to remove elected officials or people appointed to fill vacant offices if they gather signatures from at least 15 percent of registered voters in that official's jurisdiction and cite grounds such as crime, incompetency, or misconduct. The signatures must be collected within 60 days before filing the recall petition with the Secretary of State, and the bill does not apply to officials who can be impeached under the state constitution.

require the disclosure of whether a ballot question was proposed by initiative or by the Legislature.

South Dakota voters will now see a clear label on their ballots indicating whether a proposed constitutional amendment or law change came from the state Legislature or from a citizen initiative. This change requires the Attorney General to include this disclosure statement alongside the existing ballot explanations, helping voters immediately understand the source of each ballot measure.

permit the use of a ballot on demand system and to declare an emergency.

South Dakota counties and local governments can now use "ballot on demand" systems that print ballots as needed rather than pre-printing them in advance. If a county and a local government hold a joint election, the local government must use the same ballot-printing system the county has authorized. The bill declares this change an emergency so it takes effect immediately upon the governor's approval.

amend and repeal provisions pertaining to the ballot requirements for certain elections and to declare an emergency.

This bill simplifies ballot requirements for primary elections by requiring county auditors to include all precinct committeeman and committeewoman candidates on ballots, and requiring judicial candidates to appear without party designations in the order set by the Secretary of State. The bill repeals two existing provisions (sections 12-9-13 and 12-13-11) that previously contained different ballot rules, streamlining the overall election process. The law takes effect immediately upon passage as an emergency measure.

modify the number of signatures required on certain election-related petitions.

SB 33 modifies the signature requirements for election-related petitions in South Dakota, though the specific new signature thresholds are not shown in the excerpt provided. The bill updates definitions and procedures across multiple sections of election law (sections 12-1-3, 12-5-1, 12-6-7, 12-7-1, and others) to implement these signature requirement changes.

require that an individual provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and to declare an emergency.

South Dakota now requires people registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, with the specific evidence needed defined in the law. The bill repeals previous voter registration rules and updates requirements for federal voters, including those who use mail forwarding addresses or cannot provide citizenship documentation. This change makes citizenship verification a mandatory part of the voter registration process.

require a vote to approve the creation of certain tax increment financing districts.

SB207 requires cities, towns, and counties to hold a special election before creating a tax increment financing district if the project costs exceed $15 million. Currently, local governments can establish these districts through a governing body resolution alone, but this bill adds a voter approval requirement for larger projects. The bill also makes minor technical changes to how districts are formally created and named.

require an election to approve the issuance of certain capital outlay certificates, lease-purchase contracts, or installment purchase contracts.

School districts must now hold a voter election before issuing capital outlay certificates, lease-purchase contracts, or installment purchase contracts that will obligate the district for future payments exceeding 1.5% of the district's taxable property value. Previously, school boards could approve these financial commitments after only a public hearing; this bill adds a requirement that voters must approve them through an election.

permit the use of a confirmation letter to verify a voter's registration.

This bill allows South Dakota county auditors to use confirmation letters or postcards to verify whether voters still live at their registered addresses. If a voter doesn't return the confirmation mailing within 30 days, or if the mailing is returned as undeliverable, the voter's registration becomes inactive. The bill streamlines the process for keeping the voter registration list current by making confirmation letters an acceptable verification method.

amend provisions pertaining to the timing of municipal and school district elections.

This bill changes when South Dakota cities and school districts can hold elections by moving municipal elections to a single statewide date and adjusting the timing rules for special elections and ballot measures. Specifically, it modifies deadlines for petitions and consolidates various election scheduling requirements into updated procedures tied to regular municipal and school district election dates. The bill repeals several outdated election timing provisions and creates new rules for when election notices must be published and how far in advance elections must be announced.

modify the requirements to refer an ordinance or resolution to the voters of a political subdivision.

HB1323 changes when local government ordinances and resolutions must be put to a public vote by modifying the referendum requirements across multiple types of political subdivisions in South Dakota. The bill reorganizes and expands the rules governing which ordinances trigger mandatory voter referrals, clarifying the process and timeline for when these measures take effect. These changes apply to counties, cities, towns, and various other local government entities throughout the state.

require the publication of the results of an election for precinct committeeman or committeewoman and to declare an emergency.

County auditors must now send information to the state about precinct committeeman and committeewoman candidates, election results, and unopposed candidates who were automatically elected. The Secretary of State will then publish all of this information on the state's website so the public can see who ran, who won, and who was elected without opposition.

modify the requirements for a petition to refer an excess tax levy of a school district to a vote.

School districts currently can impose an excess tax levy (additional property tax) with a two-thirds board vote, and this bill modifies the petition process that allows taxpayers to refer such levies to a public vote. The specific changes to the petition requirements are shown in the amended section, though the bill text excerpt provided doesn't clearly display those petition-related modifications due to formatting.

amend provisions pertaining to the timing of municipal elections.

HB1030 changes when South Dakota cities and towns hold their elections by adjusting the timing rules spread across multiple election law sections. The bill modifies deadlines and procedures for regular municipal elections, special elections, and related voting processes, though the specific new election dates or timing framework aren't fully clear from the excerpt provided. This is a comprehensive overhaul of municipal election scheduling that affects how cities organize and conduct their electoral processes.

proposing and submitting to the voters at the next general election an amendment to the Constitution of the State of South Dakota, requiring a declaration of necessity and clarifying public use of private property taken or damaged by eminent domain.

South Dakota voters would be asked to approve a constitutional amendment that requires the government to publicly declare why it needs to take or damage private property before using eminent domain, and clarifies that "public use" cannot simply mean increasing tax revenue, jobs, or economic growth. The amendment also specifies that property owners keep the underlying land rights when property is taken for railroads or highways, and prevents the government from reducing compensation payments based on any benefits the owner might gain from the taking.

amend provisions pertaining to conducting a municipal or school district election and to declare an emergency.

This bill updates South Dakota's rules for municipal and school district elections, clarifying key definitions and voter eligibility requirements. Specifically, it defines "in conjunction with" and "combined with" for election timing and responsibilities, and changes voter residency rules to specify that municipal voters must live in the municipality, attend school there, or be military personnel stationed there. The bill also makes technical updates to election administration procedures across multiple sections of state law.

amend provisions pertaining to the processing of absentee ballots and to declare an emergency.

SB171 changes how South Dakota counties handle absentee ballots by requiring election officials to deliver lists of absentee voters to each precinct and update those lists throughout election day, and it adds new procedures for verifying absentee ballot envelopes. The bill also repeals one outdated absentee ballot statute and modifies several others to streamline the processing and counting of absentee ballots at the precinct level.

amend provisions pertaining to the publication of the statewide voter registration file.

South Dakota will now publish its complete voter registration file online every Monday instead of at unspecified intervals, making the data more regularly available to the public. The state will also maintain a rolling five-year archive of these weekly voter registration files on the Secretary of State's website, free of charge, so citizens and election officials can access historical voter data.

provide for a pilot program for the implementation of a secured cryptographically end-to-end verifiable voting system in certain jurisdictions.

South Dakota is creating a pilot program to test advanced voting technology in up to three election jurisdictions that uses cryptographic security to verify votes are counted correctly for absentee and overseas voters. Counties or cities interested in participating must get approval from their local governing body and notify the state, with the secretary of state choosing which jurisdictions participate based on the order of notification. The secretary of state and attorney general will then review which state election laws may need to be changed to allow these jurisdictions to use the new voting system.

modify provisions pertaining to the submission of a nominating petition.

HB1095 modifies the rules for how candidates submit nominating petitions to run for municipal office in South Dakota, updating procedural requirements across multiple election-related laws. The bill standardizes petition submission deadlines, form requirements, and verification procedures that local election officials must follow when accepting candidate nominations. These changes affect when and how candidates can officially declare their candidacy for city and town positions.