SB 171 South Dakota Senate · 2026 Regular Session

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

Senate Bill 171 amends South Dakota election laws to change how absentee ballots are processed and declares an emergency. It requires election officials to keep absentee ballots sealed until verified by comparing envelope statements without opening them, and mandates that counties create a dedicated absentee ballot precinct for counting all absentee ballots (except when a regular precinct has ten or fewer absentee ballots, which are counted at the polling place). The bill establishes the absentee ballot counting board as the entity responsible for processing and counting all absentee ballots countywide, replacing previous handling methods. This directly affects election officials and the absentee voting process for South Dakota voters.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Signed into Law

Mar 2026

Introduced Jan 29, 2026 Signed Mar 30, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

House State Affairs Engrossed → Enrolled · 4 edits · Mar 11, 2026

MODERATE

This bill amends South Dakota election laws to streamline the handling of absentee ballots by allowing them to be processed before election day and establishing a centralized 'absentee ballot precinct' for counting. It mandates that ballots be sorted and counted using automatic tabulating equipment prior to polls closing, provided vote totals are not displayed publicly until after polls close. The changes also introduce stricter penalties for unauthorized access to ballot information and require poll watchers to maintain a specific distance from ballots to protect voter privacy.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of absentee ballot processing to include pre-election day activities and creates a specific administrative structure (absentee ballot precinct) for counties that choose to centralize this work.

REQUIREMENT

Requires the creation of an 'absentee ballot precinct' if the election official chooses to centralize absentee ballot processing, with the election board serving as the counting board.

Mandates that poll watchers keep a reasonable distance from ballots and identification information to protect voter privacy during processing.

TIMELINE

Allows absentee ballots to be processed and sorted before election day, but prohibits displaying vote totals until after polls close.

ENFORCEMENT

Establishes a Class 2 misdemeanor penalty for creating records that link individual voters to their specific ballots.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 5, 2026 · House Mar 5, 2026

How they voted

32–2

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 35

Feb 5, 2026

D Democratic3

3 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican32

29 Yea 2 Nay 1

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Mar 30, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-30 S.J. 550

executive

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the Speaker H.J. 560

upper

Mar 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by the President S.J. 525

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Concurred in amendments , Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 2 S.J. 511

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

House of Representatives Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 56, NAYS 11 H.J. 526

upper

Mar 5, 2026

House · Passed

House Vote: pass (56-11-3)

house

Mar 2, 2026

Upper · Passed

State Affairs Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 11, NAYS 0

upper

Mar 2, 2026

Introduced

State Affairs Motion to amend , Passed, Amendment 171A

upper

Feb 9, 2026

Committee

Referred to House State Affairs H.J. 262

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 32, NAYS 2 S.J. 201

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 9, NAYS 0 S.J. 15

upper

Jan 29, 2026

Introduced

First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 141

upper

2 primary · 0 co-sponsors