SD HB1324

Abolishes South Dakota's seven-member State Board of Elections and transfers all of its powers, duties, and rulemaking authority to the secretary of state, effective January 1, 2027

Requires the secretary of state to promulgate rules on election procedures, ballot forms, voter registration, petition processes, voting system approval, post-election audits, recounts, poll watchers, and other election administration functions previously handled by the Board

Moves the petition signature filing deadline for initiated constitutional amendments and initiated measures from the first Tuesday in February to the first Tuesday in May of a general election year, and requires filing by 5:00 p.m. central time along with a sworn affidavit from at least two-thirds of petition sponsors

Replaces repealed provisions on Sioux language interpreter requirements at polling places (§§ 12-3-6 through 12-3-13) with new sections requiring county auditors to provide interpreters proficient in the local Sioux dialect in counties meeting federal language minority thresholds under 52 U.S.C. § 10503, with interpreters paid at the same rate as precinct deputies

Revises and modernizes numerous election law definitions and procedures, including updated definitions of "candidate," "petition," "petition circulator," "poll watcher," "voter," and "independent," and changes Help America Vote Act complaint resolution timelines from 90 days to 14 days, with the annual voter removal report redirected from the Board to the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee by July 1