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Actual Vote in South Dakota

Poll tapes posted inside, or at closing time only

Information current as of June 2026

This page explains how to use the Actual Vote app in South Dakota for the next election. New to Actual Vote? Start here to learn what it is and why it matters.

South Dakota doesn’t post a tape on the door, but it has one of the strongest “watch the count” rights in the country: “members of the public may observe the voting and counting process at any polling location,” arranged so you can “plainly see and hear what is done” (§ 12-18-9), and the count is conducted “publicly, in the presence of all persons desiring to attend” (§ 12-20-1). For machine counting, the tabulator’s printed results are “open to the public” at the counting location. This is most direct in the growing number of hand-count precincts. Recording isn’t spelled out — ask the county auditor. Results post online after all polls close at 7 p.m. Central.

Your participation is powerful: you join a nationwide team whose recordings get compared, tape-by-tape, against the officially reported results — an independent check on vote reporting, which is vulnerable to error and fraud. We haven’t published an Actual Vote analysis from South Dakota yet, but see what a team achieved in the 2024 North Carolina primary. The process is legal and next-to-impossible to abuse for partisan gain: everything on a poll tape is already public.

Get the app How Actual Vote works See an example analysis

This information was compiled using AI-assisted internet research along with some calls to election offices and word-of-mouth tips. It reflects America Counts’s best knowledge of how to access poll tapes in South Dakota as of June 2026, but it cannot be guaranteed 100% accurate. The best way to be sure about accessing poll tapes in your area is to call your local elections office and ask — see below for ready-to-use scripts.

If your experience or knowledge of poll-tape procedure in South Dakota is different from what we show here, please contact us and let us know — we update these pages as we learn more.

Your ways to participate in South Dakota

In order of power — how early in the chain of custody the evidence is, how many tapes one person can capture, and how easy it is.

  1. 1

    Record the close at your polling placeMost powerful

    In South Dakota the tape is posted inside or read out at the close, so be present when the polls close and record it. Realistically about one location a night.

    See a detailed example of how to make a plan to visit polling places on election night based in Broward County, Florida.

  2. 2

    Become a poll worker or observer

    Working the polls or serving as an appointed observer puts you right at the source — the earliest point in the chain of custody, and the clearest view of the count and the tape.

    See more details about Actual Vote for poll workers or observers.

    Sign up to be a poll worker →

  3. 3

    Visit or book an appointment at your county elections office

    Election offices can often provide many precincts’ tapes at once — a great way to cover a whole county on your own schedule.

    Email/phone script — book an appointment at your South Dakota county elections office
    To: [your county] County elections office
    Re: Appointment to view and record precinct results tapes

    Hello, and thank you for your work. My name is [name]. My friends and I use Actual Vote, an app from America Counts, a non-partisan election transparency organization — we video-record poll tapes and compare them to the official results as an independent double-check.

    We’d like to request an appointment to view and video-record the certified precinct results tapes (summary statements) from the [date] election — Election Day, absentee/by-mail, and early voting — for [all precincts / the following precincts: ____]. [Preferred date and window] would work, but we’re flexible and happy to follow any rules your office sets.

    Everything on these tapes is public records under the South Dakota Public Records Law (S.D. Codified Laws § 1-27-1), and already public, so all we’d need is the tapes and a place to work. Thank you for considering it. — [name], [contact]

    Offices are busiest right before certification — offering a flexible window (and to start with a few precincts) makes a yes easier. See the full worked example for more.

    See a detailed example of how to do this.

  4. 4

    File a public-records request for poll-tape images

    Poll tapes are public records under the South Dakota Public Records Law. You can request digital copies by precinct and voting method — available in every state, though it captures the tapes later in the chain of custody.

    Public-records request email — South Dakota precinct results tapes
    To: [your county] County Auditor's office
    Re: Public data request — [election, e.g. November 5, 2024 General Election] results tapes, [your county] County

    Dear [County] County Auditor,

    Under the South Dakota Public Records Law, S.D. Codified Laws § 1-27-1, I'm requesting copies of public election data — specifically the tabulator-printed results tapes and/or the certified precinct return sheets showing candidate-by-candidate vote totals, meeting the following criteria:

    • From South Dakota's [election, e.g. November 5, 2024 General Election]
    • From all precincts in [your county] County
    • For each voting method that produced a printed tally — Election Day (in-person precinct), Absentee By-Mail, and In-Person Absentee / Early Voting
    • The tapes/statements showing candidate-by-candidate vote totals — I don't need the zero or configuration tapes, though including them is fine
    • If for any combination above no ballots were cast (so no tape was printed), simply omit it

    I understand South Dakota doesn't post a tape on the door, but the public may observe both the voting and the counting process directly at the polling location (§ 12-18-9), the count is conducted publicly (§ 12-20-1), and for machine-counted precincts the tabulator's printed results are open to the public at the counting location — I'm simply asking for a copy of that same printed record after the fact.

    Digital scans (emailed or via a download link, in any common format such as .pdf or .jpg) would be ideal; physical copies for pickup or mail are also fine. These are public records, and the totals they show are already in the official published results. They'll be used for legitimate, non-partisan vote-reporting auditing with Actual Vote, an app from America Counts, a non-partisan election transparency organization — you can see exactly how it works, and why it's non-partisan, at Start Here.

    If you must redact anything beyond precinct name, voting method, and results totals, please go ahead. If you deny any part of this request, please cite the specific exemption and let me know the appeal options under the law. Please also tell me of any fee in advance — I request a fee waiver, as this analysis is in the public interest, contributes to election transparency, and is not for any commercial purpose.

    Because our analysis is most useful before results are certified, I'd be grateful for the data within about a week if possible; if you expect a delay, just let me know when to expect it.

    Thank you for considering this request. — [name], [email/phone]

    See a detailed example of how to do this.

Quick reference: tape access by role in South Dakota

A companion to the options above. Whatever your role when the polls close — poll worker, appointed watcher, or member of the public — here’s who can see and record the results tape in South Dakota, and how the state compares nationally.

Public at the close

Public count; tabulator results are open at the count site.

Recording: Recording — ask at the count.
Key authority: S.D.C.L. §12-18-9

See how every state compares →

Example Actual Vote Recordings

We don’t have any recordings from South Dakota yet — you could be the first! Here are some example poll tape videos by Actual Vote users in other states. America Counts compares the vote totals on each poll tape video to the official results to double-check the accuracy of the vote reporting. See this report from North Carolina in 2022 for an example.

Recordings live in the public Actual Vote Video Archive.

How we know this — and how you can check it

This reflects America Counts’s June 2026 primary-source review of South Dakota’s election statutes and Secretary of State guidance. We’re finalizing the detailed, fully-cited "how we know this" write-up for South Dakota. In the meantime, the surest way to confirm what applies at your polling place or elections office is to call them directly. Found something different? Help us verify it.

Find your county's election website

County sites carry polling locations and local contact information. Search "[your county], South Dakota elections" if a link 404s.

Ready to help?

Join the nationwide team independently double-checking how votes are reported — starting in South Dakota.

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