PIERRE – The absentee voting period for South Dakota’s 2022 general election started Friday, Sept. 23.

To request an absentee ballot in Brookings County, voters must submit an absentee ballot application form to the County Finance Office. Absentee ballot application forms can also be downloaded from the Secretary of State’s website at www.sdsos.gov. Voters choosing to cast an absentee ballot are encouraged to account for mail processing and delivery times by allowing sufficient time for the return of the ballot to their county auditor. 

Absentee ballot applications include options to receive absentee ballots for a specific election or for all elections held during a calendar year. Voters who completed an absentee ballot application form earlier this year will receive a ballot if they marked the option of receiving absentee ballots for all elections or the general election on the request form. Voters may verify whether they have already requested an absentee ballot by contacting the County Finance Office or searching the voter information portal on the secretary of state’s website. 

Voters submitting an absentee ballot application form must include a photocopy of an acceptable photo identification card or have the form notarized, as per South Dakota Codified Law 12-18-6.1.

Acceptable photo identification cards include a South Dakota driver’s license or non-driver ID card, tribal photo ID, passport or other picture ID issued by the United States government, or a current student photo ID issued by a South Dakota high school or postsecondary education institution. 

Brookings County voters also have the option to in-person absentee vote at the first floor of the Brookings City & County Government Center up to the day before the election or to vote at the polls on Nov. 8.

During absentee voting, no campaigning – including vehicle stickers, signs or politically charged advertising of any kind – will be allowed within 100 feet of the government center per SDCL 12-18-3.

On Election Day, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. For polling location and sample ballot information, visit the voter information portal on the Secretary of State’s website.

Voter registration for the Nov. 8 general election will close on Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. Failure to register by this date will cause forfeiture of voting rights for this election. Those in doubt about whether they are registered can check the voter information portal at www.sdsos.gov or call the County Finance Office at 605-696-8250.

Registration may be completed during regular business hours at the County Finance Office, municipal finance office, Secretary of State’s Office, and those locations which provide driver’s licenses, SNAP, TANF, WIC, military recruitment, and assistance to the disabled as provided by the Department of Human Services. Voters may contact the County Finance Office to request a mail-in registration form or access a mail-in form at www.sdsos.gov.