September 1, 1982

Mr. Timothy P. Johnson 
State Representative 
Box 272 
Vermillion, South Dakota 57069

Official Opinion No. 82-37

Absentee Ballot Procedure

Dear Representative Johnson:

You have requested an official opinion from this office in regard to the following factual situation:

FACTS: 

Many applicants for absentee ballots are requesting that those ballots be mailed to political party headquarters or candidate campaign headquarters.

Based on the above facts, you have asked the following question:

QUESTION: 

Is it legally permissible for an applicant for an absentee ballot to request that the absentee ballot be mailed to a political party headquarters or a candidate campaign headquarters?

SDCL 12-19-2 provides: 

At any time not less than seven days prior to an election in which he desires to vote by mail, an absentee voter may apply to the person in charge of the election for an absentee ballot.  The application or request shall be made in writing, and be signed by the applicant and shall state his voting precinct and place of voting residence and the address to which the ballot shall be sent, and the reason for which the ballot is requested.  The state board of elections shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 1-26, to prescribe a form which delineates the reasons for an absentee ballot request and allows the voter to indicate the proper reason for the request.  The  person in charge of the election shall stamp the application with the date it was received in his office.  The application shall be filed with the person in charge of an election.  The application may be made by letter or upon blanks furnished by the person in charge of the election or upon any form prescribed by the state board of elections or the postcard form referred to in §  12-4-8.1, executed by persons authorized in accordance with the Federal Voting Assistance Act of 1955 (50 USC §  1452).  The person in charge of the election shall preserve a record of the name, postoffice address, and voting precinct of each applicant and, except as provided by §  12-19-45, shall send each such written application by registered mail, or shall deliver the same to the superintendent of the election board of the home precinct of the applicant named therein.

SDCL 12-19-3 provides: 

Upon receiving an application for absentee ballots, the person in charge of an election shall, within forty-eight hours, or if ballots are not then on hand, then within forty-eight hours after receipt of the ballots, after confirming from the master registration list that the applicant is registered as a voter pursuant to chapter 12-4, enclose one of each of the official ballots, a set of instructions on absentee balloting, in an unsealed return envelope which shall be prescribed by the state board of elections.  All of the enclosures shall be sealed in an envelope addressed to the applicant at  the place stated in his application.

In view of § § 12-19-2 and 12-19-3, it is my opinion that it is legally permissible for an applicant for an absentee ballot to request and a county auditor to mail an absentee ballot to a political party headquarters or a candidate campaign headquarters.

Respectfully submitted,

Mark V. Meierhenry
Attorney General