South Dakota Recount Laws

Close vote margin required Party official may petition for candidate Different close vote margin requirements apply for candidate-initiated recounts depending on the office sought. For all offices, a recount may be requested for both primary and general elections. For elections held only in one county, or for joint legislative districts comprising more than one county, a candidate may request a recount if they are “defeated by a margin not exceeding two percent of the total vote cast for all candidates for such office.” See Section 12-21-10, “Complete recount on candidate's petition in close local election,” and Section 12-21-11, “Complete recount on candidate's petition in close election in joint legislative district”: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statu.... For both municipal and school board elections, candidates may request a recount if they are “defeated by a margin not exceeding two percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for the office.” An additional margin is allowed for municipal candidates, who may also apply if the vote margin is five votes or less. See Section 9-13-27.3, “Requests for recounts--Recount board established,” and Section 13-7-19.2, “Close margin in school board election--Request for recount--Recount board established”: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statu.... For state and district elections, any candidate for office other than the Legislature may request a recount if they are defeated “by a margin which does not exceed one-fourth of one percent of the total vote cast for all candidates for such office.” See Section 12-21-12, “Candidate's petition for recount in close state or district election--Notice to county auditors”: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statu.... Requests for recounts for presidential elections differ from other candidate-initiated recounts in that they must occur before the official canvass has taken place. A request may be filed:

Whenever according to the official returns as publicly announced and compiled, although not yet officially canvassed, it fairly appears that one group of candidates for presidential electors has been elected over another group of such candidates by a margin not exceeding one-fourth of one percent of the total of votes cast for both such groups...

Furthermore, the request is brought not by the candidate but by “the chairman of the state central committee of the political party which nominated either of such groups, or any two or more candidates of either such group.” See Section 12-21-15, “Petition for recount in close presidential election--Time of filing--Notice to county auditors”: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Type=Statute&Statu.... The petition to be completed by a candidate can be found in the administrative rules: http://legis.state.sd.us/rules/DisplayRule.aspx?Rule=05:02:19:05. A second recount for a given office or question may not take place, except through a process in which the conduct of the first recount is contested in court. Statutes pertaining to such contests are set out in Sections 12-21-44 through 12-21-61: http://legis.state.sd.us/statutes/DisplayStatute.aspx?Statute=12-21&Type.... Timing: For school board and municipal elections, the request must be filed within five days after the official canvass. For county, joint legislative, district, and state elections, the request must be filed within three days after the official canvass. As noted above, however, for presidential elections, the request must be filed after the election but prior to the official canvass.