South Dakota Absentee Voter Guide

Military and overseas voters should check out the Overseas Vote Foundation.  Long Distance Voter's forms and deadlines should only be used by voters with US mailing addresses.

Mail-in Deadlines

General Election: Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Voter Registration

To register to vote in South Dakota you must:

• be a citizen of the United States
• reside in South Dakota
• be 18 years old by the next election
• not be currently serving a sentence for a felony conviction which included imprisonment, served or suspended, in an adult penitentiary system
• not have been adjudged mentally incompetent by a court

How to register to vote:

• Recommended: Use our Voter Registration Widget.  Enter your information, print and sign the completed form, and mail it to the address printed on the form. 
• You can download the South Dakota Voter Registration Form.  Complete and sign the form and mail it to your County Auditor. 

Voter registration verification:

You should receive written confirmation that your voter registration was processed in 2-3 weeks.  Don't panic if you never receive your voter registration card: you don't actually need it to vote.  If you not sure if your registration was processed - or if you simply can't remember if you're register to vote - you can use the voter registration verification tools here.

Voting by Absentee Ballot

Good news!  Any South Dakota voter can vote absentee by absentee ballot.

How to apply for an absentee ballot:

Download and complete South Dakota's Application for Absentee Ballot.  You can also download and complete the South Dakota Fill-In Application for Absentee Ballot.  The two applications are identical, but the second one lets you type your information directly into the form before printing.

Your signature on the application must be notarized or witnessed by an official who can administer an oath.  As an alternative to notarization, you can send a photocopy of a valid form of identification with the application.  Acceptable forms of ID include: A South Dakota driver’s license or non-driver identification card;  A passport or an identification card, including a picture, issued by an agency of the United States government; A tribal identification card, including a picture; or a current student identification card, including a picture, issued by an accredited institution of higher education, including a university, college, or technical school, located within the State of South Dakota.

Mail or hand-deliver your completed application to the appropriate elections officials:

• For primary or general elections, mail your application to your County Auditor.
• For municipal elections, mail your completed application to your Town/City Finance Officer
• For school elections, mail your application to your School District's Business Manager 

Absentee ballot instructions:

Here's what you do with your ballot once you receive it:

• Mark your ballot privately.
• Place your ballot in the return envelope and seal it securely.
• Complete the statement on the back of the return envelope and SIGN IT.
• Mail the ballot to the person in charge of the election, deliver it in person, or authorize someone to deliver it for you.
• The ballot must be received by the person in charge of the election by 7:00 p.m. (in time to transmit it to your precinct polling place) on election day.

Contact Information for Election Officials