EIIElection Integrity Index

§ 12-25-31 codifies financial-statement forms and public-record requirements. § 12-4-9 codifies master registration file public inspection. § 12-4-19.7 codifies confirmation mailing notice. Public verification artifacts codified through public-records framework; no single signed downloadable package codified.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

§ 12-15-14 codifies counting boards in 'paper ballot precincts' — explicit paper-ballot regime. § 12-15-14.1 codifies counting boards in smaller paper-ballot precincts. § 12-16-2 codifies paper-ballot quality + printing specifications: 'All official ballots shall be printed on good quality bond paper, in black ink, and in the English language.' § 12-17B-2 (not in FTS top-5 for this datapoint) codifies that BMDs may not save or tabulate votes (paper-trail preserved). SD regime is paper-only.

§ 12-21-34 codifies that 'the certificate as to the result of the recount and the certificate as to disputed ballots shall be filed and preserved by the county auditor as PUBLIC RECORDS.' § 12-17B-13 codifies that automatic-tabulating returns are open to the public. § 12-4-9 codifies public-inspection of master registration file. Citizen re-tally access through public records codified.

§ 12-16-26 codifies tamper-evident ballot-box construction: 'Ballot boxes shall be so constructed to preclude the removal of any material therefrom except by means of an opening which may be secured in the closed position by means of a metal seal which will preclude opening of the box without the destruction of the seal.' § 12-20-20 codifies sealing of ballot boxes after counting. § 12-20-21 codifies sealed return to officer in charge. § 12-21-33 codifies separate sealing of disputed ballots. § 12-21-29 codifies sealed-ballot recount procedure. Comprehensive tamper-evident regime codified.

“Ballot boxes shall be so constructed to preclude the removal of any material therefrom except by means of an opening which may be secured in the closed position by means of a metal seal which will preclude opening of the box without the destruction of the seal”

§ 12-17B-2 codifies explicit network-isolation mandate: 'No automatic tabulating, electronic ballot marking, or election voting equipment system may be connected to the internet.' Also prohibits BMD vote-storage. § 12-4-41 codifies voter-data sharing prohibitions. Among the strongest statutory air-gap provisions in the corpus.

“No automatic tabulating, electronic ballot marking, or election voting equipment system may be connected to the internet.”

§ 12-21-30 codifies court custody of sealed ballots in judicial proceedings. § 12-21-50 codifies certiorari writs addressed to officials with custody. § 12-20-20 codifies ballot-box sealing after counting. § 12-20-21 codifies return-of-materials procedure. Chain-of-custody framework codified throughout.

§ 12-26-23.1 makes tampering with automatic-counting / DRE / ballot-marking systems a Class 5 felony. § 12-26-23 makes ballot/ballot-box/poll-list tampering a Class 6 felony. § 12-19-33 makes ballot-handler tampering a Class 6 felony. Comprehensive criminal-penalty framework codified.

“No person may intentionally program or alter an automatic ballot counting device, direct recording electronic voting machine, or electronic ballot marking system to erroneously mark, record, or count voted ballots or to render an erroneous total. A violation of this section is a Class 5 felony.”

§ 12-21-10 codifies candidate-petitioned recount at ≤2% margin — automatic-on-petition rather than mandatory-every-election. § 12-21-16 (not in FTS top-5 for this datapoint) codifies automatic recount on tie vote. § 12-21-11.1 codifies notice procedure. § 12-21-22 codifies multi-recount combination. SD does not codify a separate mandatory post-election audit (no RLA, no fixed-percentage audit); the recount-on-petition framework serves verification only when triggered.

§ 12-21-10 codifies the recount method — county recount board reviews ballots. § 12-21-29 codifies sealed-ballot opening for recount. § 12-21-32 codifies certification. § 12-21-35 codifies certification to canvassing board. § 12-21-16 codifies automatic tie-vote recount. Statutory recount method codified — ordinal level 1: manual recount triggered by margin/tie (no risk-limiting; no fixed-percentage post-tabulation audit).

§ 12-21-10 codifies that 'a candidate… is defeated, according to the official returns, by a margin not exceeding two percent of the total vote cast' may petition for a complete recount. § 12-21-16 codifies automatic tie-vote recount. Statutory close-margin trigger explicitly codified.

§ 12-20-13 codifies that 'the county auditor shall tabulate election returns as rapidly as received and make the result available for the information of the public.' § 12-17B-13 codifies that automatic-tabulating returns are 'open to the public.' § 12-4-9 codifies public-inspection access to voter registration master file. § 12-14-15 codifies precinct boundary notice. Public-observation framework codified.

§ 12-20-40 codifies that the county auditor shall make out a certificate of election to each person with highest votes. § 12-21-47 codifies certiorari review of recount determination. § 12-17B-13 codifies that final tabulating returns are 'presented to the canvassing board for review and certification as the official returns.' § 13-1 codifies binding certification chain. Recount/canvass binding on certification codified.

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 12-27-22.1 (campaign-finance disclosure) and similar candidates are FTS-surfaced but unrelated to voting-system source-code disclosure. SD does not codify voting-system source-code disclosure; SDCL § 12-17B-2 requires State Board of Elections certification but proprietary code is not statutorily public.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

§ 12-17B-15 codifies sealing and storing of tabulated ballots and program boards. § 12-17B-1 codifies voting-system definitions (paper ballot, ballot marking device, automatic tabulating equipment). § 12-26-23.1 codifies criminal liability for programming/altering tabulating devices. § 12-5-1 codifies political party organization. Pre-poll commitment exists through certification framework.

§ 12-17B-13 codifies the tabulating-vote procedure: 'The results printed by the automatic tabulating equipment shall constitute the immediate unofficial returns. These returns shall be open to the public. The final returns printed by the automatic tabulating equipment shall be presented to the canvassing board for review and certification as the official returns.' Public-review + canvass-board certification chain codified.

§ 12-18-8.1 codifies that 'the State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules… setting the number of poll watchers which are allowed in each polling place.' § 12-18-9.1 codifies poll watcher positioning rules (cannot see into voting booths). § 12-15-2.1 codifies disqualifications. § 12-18-6.3 codifies poll-watcher challenge right. Comprehensive poll-watcher regime codified.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

§ 12-20-13 codifies that 'the county auditor shall tabulate election returns as rapidly as received and make the result available for the information of the public' and shall enter into central state computer immediately following tabulation of each precinct. § 12-17B-13 codifies that tabulating returns are immediately public. § 12-20-10 codifies blank-list precinct reports. § 12-20-21.1 codifies impassable-road procedure. Ordinal level 3: precinct-level results within hours of count completion.

“the county auditor shall tabulate election returns as rapidly as received and make the result available for the information of the public”

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

§ 12-17B-11 codifies equal party representation among persons employed to receive/process/tabulate ballots — explicit acknowledgment of vendor presence with bipartisan-balance counterweight. § 12-17B-2 codifies State Board certification of multiple systems. Multi-vendor framework codified.

“Except for any specially trained technicians representing the equipment vendor and required for the operation of the automatic tabulating equipment, there shall be equal representation from each political party”

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 12-2-3 codifies polling hours (7am-7pm) — unrelated to open-protocol standards. SDCL Title 12 does not codify open vote-data exchange protocols; certification is by State Board rule under § 12-17B-2.

No section in the FTS-surfaced candidates satisfies this criterion. Best signal: § 12-27-1 (campaign-finance definitions) is FTS-surfaced but unrelated to vendor contract duration. No statutory cap on voting-system vendor contract duration codified.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

No candidate sections returned by FTS.

§ 12-14-9 codifies that 'polling places shall be selected with reference to the convenience of the voters in the various election precincts, and should be as near the center of the election precincts as practicable.' § 12-14-15 codifies polling-place change procedure. Polling-place provision is codified per precinct; a strict voters-per-place statutory floor is not specified — left to county auditor discretion.