South Dakota § 13-7-6 - Nomination requirements--Deadline--Declaration of candidacy--Petition contents--Circulation period--Verification.

§ 13-7-6. Nomination requirements--Deadline--Declaration of candidacy--Petition contents--Circulation period--Verification.

No candidate for elective school board membership may be nominated unless the candidate is a resident voter of the school district and unless the candidate files a nominating petition with the business manager of the school district. The candidate must file the nominating petition before five p.m. local time, on the third Tuesday of:

(1)    March, for an election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June; or

(2)    August, for an election held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The candidate shall sign a formal declaration of candidacy before the circulation of the petition. The petition must be signed by at least twenty voters of the school district or if the school district is divided into school board representation areas, the petition must be signed by at least twenty voters who reside within the school board representation area. If the election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June, the candidate may not circulate a nominating petition before January first. If the election is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, the candidate may not circulate a nominating petition before June first.

An individual who signs a petition or the petition circulator shall write the individual's place of residence and date of signing. The petition circulator must verify the petition under oath.

The business manager shall verify by signature that the candidate is a resident voter of the school district and that the nominating petition contains the minimum number of signatures. Upon verification by the business manager, the filing of the nominating petition constitutes nomination and entitles the candidate to have the candidate's name placed on the ballot for the term the candidate specifies on the petition.

Source: SDC 1939, § 15.2510; SL 1947, ch 67; SL 1955, ch 41, ch 9, § 10; SL 1957, ch 64, § 2; SL 1959, ch 64; SDC Supp 1960, § 15.2310; SL 1968, ch 47, § 1; SL 1975, ch 128, § 33; SL 1979, ch 113, § 2; SL 1981, ch 129, § 1; SL 1985, ch 119, § 2; SL 1995, ch 90, § 2; SL 1996, ch 103, § 1; SL 2004, ch 75, § 7; SL 2007, ch 89, § 2, eff. Feb. 15, 2007; SL 2009, ch 69, § 11; SL 2010, ch 74, § 24; SL 2015, ch 77, § 16 rejected Nov. 8, 2016; SL 2025, ch 40, § 14, eff. Jan. 1, 2026; SL 2026, ch 35, § 7.