The Secretary of State's Office shall produce an absentee ballot application form and distribute the form to the county auditors. The absentee ballot application form must contain the deadline for an applicant to request an absentee ballot, instructions for an applicant to request an absentee ballot, and space where the applicant may provide:

1. (1) The applicant's name;
2. (2) The applicant's voter registration address;

3. (3) If the applicant's voter registration address is a commercial mail receiving agency, mail forwarding service, or other post office box, a description of the location of the applicant's residence in accordance with the following instructions:

   1. (a) "If you live in a rural area and do not have a street address; if your residence address is a commercial mail receiving agency, mail forwarding service, or other post office box; or if you have no address, please describe the physical location of your residence in writing or by drawing a map, which may include writing the names of the streets or intersections nearest to where you live and listing any landmarks (e.g., schools, churches, stores) near where you live, in the space provided"; and
   2. (b) "Failure to provide a description of the location of your residence will give rise to the presumption that you are not a resident of this state for the purposes of SDCL 12-1-4 and will result in you being designated a federal voter";
4. (4) The applicant's mailing address, if different from the applicant's voter registration address;
5. (5) The applicant's telephone number;
6. (6) The applicant's email address;
7. (7) The election or elections for which the applicant intends to request a ballot;
8. (8) For an applicant who is registered as an independent or no party affiliation voter and intends to request a ballot for a primary election, the type of ballot that the applicant intends to request;

9. (9) For an applicant who intends to request a ballot for a municipal or school election, an affirmation that the applicant:

   1. (a) Has lived in the jurisdiction for at least thirty days in the last year;
   2. (b) Is a full-time postsecondary education student who resided in the jurisdiction immediately prior to leaving for the postsecondary education; or
   3. (c) Is on active duty as a member of the armed forces whose home of record is within the jurisdiction;

10. (10) Whether the applicant is:

    1. (a) A member of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine on active duty;
    2. (b) An eligible spouse or dependent of a member of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine on active duty; or
    3. (c) A United States citizen residing outside the United States;
11. (11) For an applicant in a class listed in subdivision (10) of this section, whether the applicant intends to have a ballot sent electronically;

12. (12) Verification of the applicant's identity through:

    1. (a) An oath affirming the validity of the information in the application, administered by a notary public or other officer authorized by this state to administer an oath or administered by an out-of-state notary public; or
    2. (b) A copy of a valid form of personal identification, including a South Dakota driver license or South Dakota nondriver identification card; a passport or 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 a South Dakota high school or postsecondary education institution;
13. (13) The applicant's signature;
14. (14) The date on which the applicant signed the absentee ballot application form;

15. (15) Authorization for an individual to serve as an authorized messenger on behalf of the applicant and:

    1. (a) The individual's name;
    2. (b) The individual's address; and
    3. (c) The individual's telephone number;
16. (16) Acknowledgement by the individual designated to serve as an authorized messenger that the applicant's ballot was received, including the date and time of receipt;
17. (17) Whether the individual designated to serve as an authorized messenger is serving as an authorized messenger for any other voter; and
18. (18) The signature of the individual serving as an authorized messenger.

Source: 2 SDR 46, effective December 30, 1975; 6 SDR 25, effective September 24, 1979; 8 SDR 24, effective September 16, 1981; 10 SDR 27, effective September 26, 1983; 16 SDR 20, effective August 10, 1989; 16 SDR 203, effective May 28, 1990; 19 SDR 12, effective August 5, 1992; 21 SDR 77, effective October 24, 1994; 23 SDR 115, effective January 22, 1997; 23 SDR 236, effective July 17, 1997; 25 SDR 8, effective August 3, 1998; 25 SDR 167, effective July 6, 1999; 29 SDR 177, effective July 2, 2003; 32 SDR 109, effective December 26, 2005; 32 SDR 225 , effective July 3, 2006; 36 SDR 112, effective January 11, 2010; 36 SDR 209, effective June 30, 2010; 40 SDR 40, effective September 9, 2013 ; 44 SDR 94, December 4, 2017; 47 SDR 37, effective October 6, 2020 (effective December 1, 2020); 52 SDR 32, effective effective January 1, 2026 .

General Authority: SDCL 12-1-9 (4), 12-19-2 .5 .

Law Implemented: SDCL 9-13-4.1 , 12-4-1.3 , 12-18-6.1 , 12-19-2 , 12-19-2.1 , 12-19-2.2 , 13-7-4.2 .

Prior versions effective: 2025-09-29, 2020-12-01, 2020-11-30, 2017-12-04, 2013-09-09.