Every city and school board candidate in South Dakota gets on the ballot the same way: by filing a nominating petition. There is no filing fee and no declaration-only route. You sign a declaration of candidacy, your circulators collect signatures from registered voters on paper, each circulator verifies their sheets under oath, and you file the petition with your city finance officer or school district business manager by 5 p.m. on the deadline. Once the office verifies it, the petition is your nomination.
City candidates need 5 percent of registered voters in the city or ward, or 50, whichever is less (at least 3 in the smallest towns). School board candidates need at least 20. For a June 8, 2027 election, petitions are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16, 2027. For a November 2, 2027 election, they are due by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17, 2027. Both dates are based on state law. Confirm your number and your deadline with your filing officer.
For the rest of the campaign, see our guide to running for city council or school board in South Dakota.
How many signatures you need
| Office | Signatures required |
|---|---|
| First class city (5,000 and over) or second class city (500 to 4,999), at large or by ward | 5 percent of registered voters in the city or ward, or 50, whichever is less |
| Third class city (under 500), at large or by ward | At least 3 registered voters of the city or ward |
| School board | At least 20 voters of the district, or of the representation area where the district uses them |
For example, a ward with 600 registered voters needs 30 signatures. A ward or city with 1,000 or more registered voters needs 50.
The 5 percent is based on the number of registered voters the county auditor recorded on the second Tuesday of the month five months before the election. That is Tuesday, January 12, 2027 for a June 8 election and Tuesday, June 8, 2027 for a November 2 election, based on state law. Your finance officer can tell you the exact number.
Collect more than the minimum. Each signature is checked against the voter registration records, and once the deadline passes you cannot add any.
When you can circulate
| June 8, 2027 election | November 2, 2027 election | |
|---|---|---|
| City petitions may begin circulating | On or about Monday, February 8, 2027 | On or about Friday, July 2, 2027 |
| School petitions may begin circulating | Friday, January 1, 2027 | Tuesday, June 1, 2027 |
| Petitions due, 5 p.m. local time | Tuesday, March 16, 2027 | Tuesday, August 17, 2027 |
All dates are based on state law. A city petition may not circulate more than four months before the election, and no one may sign any nominating petition before January 1 of the election year.
The Secretary of State's 2026 how-to guides show older dates, such as a March 24, 2026 deadline and a February 2 starting date for school petitions, because the law has since changed. Use them for the steps, not the dates. Our South Dakota 2027 city and school election calendar lists every date in the cycle.
Step 1: Get the current form and sign your declaration
Ask your finance officer or business manager for the current nominating petition. City petitions must be on the form prescribed by the State Board of Elections, and the finance officer may accept only that form.
Fill in the heading before anyone signs. A city petition includes:
- your name;
- your residential address;
- your mailing address, if it is different; and
- the office you seek.
School board petitions place your name on the ballot for the term you specify on the petition, so write the term carefully. If your city requires candidates to run for a specific seat, or your school district uses representation areas, ask how to show that on the form.
Then sign the declaration of candidacy. You must sign it before the petition circulates, and the original signed declaration must go with the petition when you file it. A petition may be made up of several sheets, and every sheet must have an identical heading.
Step 2: Choose your circulators
A circulator is the person who collects the signatures. Choose people who will follow the rules below carefully and who can meet a notary when their sheets are done.
- Who can circulate. Circulators must be South Dakota residents age 18 or older. They do not need to be registered voters.
- Witnessing. The Secretary of State says the circulator must personally witness each signature. Do not leave a petition on a counter or pass it around a room.
- Verification. Each circulator verifies the sheets they carried under oath. The Secretary of State says this is done before a South Dakota notary. The candidate may not notarize their own petition.
Before anyone goes out, give each circulator a list of the streets inside your city, ward or district.
Step 3: Collect signatures correctly
Who may sign. Signers must be registered voters who are entitled to vote for you. For a ward seat, that means voters registered in the ward. For school board, it means voters of the district, or of the representation area where the district uses them.
One petition per seat in most cities. In first and second class cities, a voter may not sign petitions for more candidates than there are seats to fill. If two seats are open, a voter may sign for no more than two candidates. In third class cities, a voter may sign more than one petition.
What each signer writes. The signer, or the circulator, adds:
- the address where the signer is registered to vote;
- the county where the signer is registered; and
- the date of signing.
In second and third class cities, a signer may give a post office box instead of a street address.
Paper and in person. A nominating petition must be a self-contained sheet of paper. Collect signatures in person on paper sheets, with the circulator present for each one.
Check as you go. Ask each person whether they are registered at their current address in your city or district.
Step 4: Verify each sheet and file by 5 p.m. on the deadline
When circulation is finished, each circulator verifies their sheets under oath before a notary. Count the verified signatures against your required number, and keep collecting while there is time if you are close to the minimum.
- City candidates file with the municipal finance officer.
- School board candidates file with the school district business manager.
File by 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday, March 16, 2027 (June election) or Tuesday, August 17, 2027 (November election), based on state law. Bring the petition sheets and your original signed declaration of candidacy. If you mail your petition, the Secretary of State says registered mail sent before 5 p.m. on the deadline counts as on time, and certified mail does not.
The finance officer or business manager verifies that the petition has enough signatures of registered voters and that you qualify. Upon verification, the filing is your nomination.
After you file. Candidates for council member, commissioner or mayor in a first class city, and school board candidates in a district with more than 2,000 students, file a statement of financial interest with the same office within 15 days. This is a personal disclosure form, not a campaign report. A city candidate who wants to withdraw must file a written request under oath with the finance officer before 5 p.m. on the first Thursday after the deadline (Thursday, March 18 or Thursday, August 19, 2027, based on state law).
If no more candidates file than there are seats, and no other question is on the ballot, no election is held and the unopposed candidates receive certificates of election.
Mistakes to avoid
- Circulating too early. Signatures collected before your circulation window, or dated before January 1, put your petition at risk.
- Signers from outside your ward or district. Their signatures do not count.
- Missing details. A line without the registration address, county or date can cost you that signature.
- Notarizing your own petition. The candidate may not notarize the circulator's verification.
Petition signers are not a texting list
A petition signature supports your place on the ballot. It is not permission to receive campaign texts. Our explainer on whether you can text the people who signed your petition covers this in general terms.
Circulation is still a good time to build a texting list, because you are already meeting voters. Work in this order.
- Carry a separate sign-up sheet. Ask each signer whether they would also like campaign updates by text. The sheet should say plainly what they are agreeing to, for example "Yes, text me updates from the Jordan Lee for School Board campaign. Reply STOP to opt out," with a line for the phone number and the date.
- Check your committee filing before you request Campaign Verify. Campaign Verify confirms to the carriers (the mobile phone companies) that a political sender is a real campaign. It is available to a committee registered with an election authority, costs $95 per two-year cycle, and needs an EIN (the committee's federal tax ID number) and a filing published online by an election authority. Candidates with no committee, and sole proprietors, are not eligible. Check that your local committee filing can be viewed online before you request verification, and ask Campaign Verify Support if it cannot. Requests made on or after Sunday, November 15, 2026 last until January 31, 2029.
- Add only the people who signed up. In CampaignCNX+, put them in a group and record each person's consent date and source, such as "petition, ward 2," in a custom field. CampaignCNX+ files your 10DLC or toll-free registration, sends texts only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient's time zone, and handles STOP replies automatically. 100 free SMS included. Your number is $5 a month.
For the full setup, see our guide to texting voters in a South Dakota local race, and for other states in the region, our Midwest texting page.
Collect, verify and file early
Start circulating as soon as your window opens, collect more than you need, verify every sheet, and file before the last afternoon. When your committee filing is in place, start a trial and have your texting ready for the weeks after the deadline.
