State Summary
South Dakota’s post-election audit law, enacted in 2023, requires five percent of the precincts in a county, including vote centers but excluding absentee precincts, to manually count all votes cast in two contests and compare the results of the manual count to the tabulated results for those precincts at the county canvass. If the combined total of all ballots cast in the precincts selected does not exceed one hundred ballots, then additional precincts must be randomly selected until the total of all ballots exceeds one hundred ballots.
Precincts, along with target contests, selected for the audit are chosen at random by the county auditor. One contest randomly selected for the audit must be a statewide contest. If there are no statewide contests on the ballot, the auditor must randomly select another contest on the ballot. If there is only one contest on the ballot, that contest must be audited.
Unless otherwise specified, references are to S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-18 through S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-25 and S.D. Admin. R. §§ 5:02:23:09.
Voting Systems Used
South Dakota uses hand-marked paper ballots and optical scanners in polling places statewide, with ballot marking devices for accessibility. For the most up-to-date information please visit Verified Voting’s Verifier.
For an explanation on the types of voting equipment used, click here.
Audit Comprehensiveness
South Dakota’s audit law requires a post-election audit of five percent of the precincts in each county, including vote centers but excluding any precinct designated as an absentee precinct. All votes cast in two randomly selected contests must be counted manually and compared to the tabulation results for those precincts at the county canvass. If the combined total of all ballots cast in the five percent of precincts selected does not exceed one hundred ballots, then additional precincts must be randomly selected until the total of all ballots exceeds one hundred. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-20.
Transparency
South Dakota’s audit provision requires the post-election audit to be open to the public. Members of the public must keep a reasonable distance and not interfere with the audit process. The county auditor must post notice of the time and place of the audit and provide the notice to the county chair of each political party with a candidate on the ballot. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-21.
Once the audit is complete, the county auditor must send the results of the post-election audit to the secretary of state and present the audit results to the county commission at its next meeting. The results of the audit must be included in the minutes of the county commission meeting.
The secretary of state must also publish the results of the post-election audit on the secretary of state’s website. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-22.
Audit Counting Method
South Dakota’s audit regulation requires each precinct subject to the audit to hand count all ballots for two randomly selected races. The post-election auditing board—a bipartisan team of registered voters in the county who did not serve as election workers for the election being audited—begins by reviewing ballots for proper marking procedure.
As each vote is announced by a post-election auditing board member, one post-election auditing board member must make the required mark on the post-election audit tally sheet outlined in S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:12, while another post-election auditing board member makes the same required mark on a duplicate post-election audit tally sheet. S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:10.
The post-election auditing board must continue the hand count without adjournment until the count is completed. S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:07.
Type Of Audit Units
Five percent of precincts in each county are randomly selected and audited. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-20.
Contests & Issues Audited
South Dakota’s statute requires the county auditor to select the contests for the audit at random, without the use of a computer, during a public meeting of the county canvassing board. One contest randomly selected for the audit must be a statewide contest. If there are no statewide contests on the ballot, the auditor must randomly select another contest on the ballot. If there is only one contest on the ballot, that contest must be audited. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-20.
Addressing Discrepancies
If there is a discrepancy shown by the results of the post-election audit that is greater than the margin by which any contest for elected office on the ballot in the county was decided, the auditor must notify each candidate for that office. Any candidate who receives a notification from the county auditor has an additional seven days from the date the auditor sends the notification to file a verified petition requesting a recount of the official returns. The petition may be filed regardless of the margin by which the contest was decided. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-23.
For recount laws, please visit our Recount Law Database.
Timeline
Within fifteen days after completion of the state canvass, the auditor of each county must conduct the post-election audit. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-18.
Before the audit, the county auditor must appoint members for the post-election audit board. Members must be of different parties and may not be candidates for the election being audited or poll workers who worked the election being audited. S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:02.
After taking their oath, the audit board must commence for a public hand count of ballots to be audited. The count must continue, without adjournment, until complete. S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:07. When finished, the audit board must certify the results as hand-counted for the post-election audit and file a copy of the certificate with the county auditor. S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:12.
Binding On Official Outcomes
South Dakota’s post-election audit must be completed within fifteen days of the state canvass. The state’s statutes and regulations do not address whether the results of the post-election audit are binding on outcomes. However, if the audit identifies a discrepancy in the results greater than the margin by which any contest for elected office on the ballot in the county was decided, the auditor must notify the candidates for that office. Any candidate who receives a notification has an additional seven days from the date from which the auditor sends the notification to file a verified petition requesting a recount of the official returns.
Oversight & Conduct
Audits are conducted by audit board members who are appointed by the auditor in each county. Each member is required to sign an oath attesting to their eligibility to serve as a board member, adhere to the state’s election laws, and act impartially while conducting the audit. S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:01.
County auditing boards must be of “sufficient size,” as determined by the county auditor, and composed of members of different political parties. Each member must also be a registered voter in the county in which the audit takes place. An individual may not serve on the county auditing board if the individual is a candidate for the office that is on the ballot being audited, or if they served as an election worker for the election being audited. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-18.
Ballot Protection
After the audit has been completed, the post-election auditing board shall place the audited voted ballots in the ballot receptacle or container keeping them separated in wrappers or envelopes and sealed. Seals pursuant to S.D. Admin. R. 5:02:23:15 must be signed by the post-election audit boards and affixed to all openings on the receptacle or containers used for storing the audited ballots.
The county auditor must then retain the ballots after completion of the post-election audit pursuant to S.D. Codified Laws § 12-20-31.
Additional Targeted Samples
South Dakota’s audit statute does not provide for additional targeted samples. S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-20.
Resources
S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-18 through S.D. Codified Laws § 12-17B-25: Post-election audit statutes
S.D. Admin. R. §§ 5:02:23:09: Post-election audit regulation
Last updated: January 11, 2024