South Dakota county auditors and the Secretary of State’s Office are at odds over how to handle a delay in early and absentee voting ahead of the June 2 primary election.
Ballot printing delays, caused by a compressed timeline between the candidate filing deadline and the start of early voting, mean ballots will not be ready when early voting was scheduled to begin last Friday. While Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office said counties could use sample ballots until official ballots arrive, multiple county auditors said they will not follow that guidance.
Auditors, including those in Codington, Lincoln and Harding counties, said state law only allows the use of sample ballots if official ballots have been exhausted — not before they are received — and warned the practice could jeopardize election integrity or lead to legal challenges.
The Secretary of State’s Office cited state law to support the option and said factors such as petition challenges, new federal‑only ballots and combined elections contributed to the delay. The office did not publicly announce the delay until Thursday, one day before early voting was set to begin, drawing criticism from auditors and challengers to Johnson’s reelection.
Lawmakers were also faulted for declining to pass an emergency fix earlier this year to move up the petition deadline. That change won’t take effect until after the June primary.
While auditors said early voting may begin unevenly across counties depending on when ballots arrive, they stressed the election itself is not at risk. Voter registration closes May 18, with the primary election scheduled for June 2.
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