New South Dakota Election Law Crowds June Ballots with Local Races

MITCHELL S.D. (South Dakota News Watch) A new South Dakota law about municipal election dates is adding to an already-heavy ballot for many voters this June.

Hotly contested primaries for governor and other statehouse and federal seats in South Dakota have largely been the focus of the ballot that Republican voters will see on election day, June 2. At the local level, elections also have crowded tickets for primary races. That includes positions like county commissioners, auditor, sheriff and the register of deeds.

And even Independents and Democrats across the state, who will in many places not be voting for primary candidates, will want to head to the polls next month to elect positions like city council, mayor and school board members.

The packed races reflect an election year with high political involvement across the state, especially in the Republican Party.

Julia Hellwege, associate professor of political science and current director of the Chiesman Center for Democracy at the University of South Dakota, told News Watch that years with prominent elections, like gubernatorial or national races, often fuel more competition at the local level.

“There’s attention being spent, and that breeds competition and competition breeds (voter) engagement,” Hellwege said.

Some cities and towns will also see municipal elections this June as a new election law comes into effect.

HB 1130 requires municipalities to hold elections either on statewide primary election day in June or general election day in November. Legislators approved the measure in 2025, and it officially took effect Jan. 1, making this the first election year to see the new date requirements.

South Dakota Searchlight reported that auditors across the state, who are responsible for election administration, are enduring arduous ballot creation processes, partially because of the increased number of races on primary day due to HB 1130. Minnehaha County auditor Leah Anderson said her office will print 324 different ballot styles for the June election.

A survey from the South Dakota Municipal League indicated that around 61% of cities are holding their elections in June, rather than in November.

Hellwege said it is important that voters understand even though municipal elections occur on the same day as primaries, they are open to all voters – not just those registered with a specific party.

“If you are not a Republican, even if you are allowed to vote for several of the (municipal) offices, you might not even know or realize that because you just think of it as the primary,” Hellwege said.

Here are some local races to watch.

In Brown County, current Sheriff Dave Lunzman is being challenged by three other Republican candidates: Dan Kaiser, Linn Kamin and Rob Weinmeister.

The winner of the June primary will meet Democrat Anthony “Tony” Sorenson in November.

In Fall River County, the retirement of longtime Auditor Sue Ganje created an opening that five candidates look to fill. Four Republicans will be on the ballot in June: Cindy Burns, Everett Dossey, Bobbie J. Janis and Carol Boche. Lily Heidebrink, an independent, will face the primary winner in November.

Four candidates are running to fill two non-partisan spots on the Oldham-Ramona-Rutland school board – one two-year term representing Oldham-Ramona and one single-year term representing Rutland. It comes as the district faced several shakeups in the past year.

A vote was held in December for a special school board election that decided the future of the Oldham-Ramona-Rutland School District. The district narrowly avoided dissolution, with just a four-vote differential.

Candidates are Jennifer Lebahn and Ashlee Roling for the Oldham-Ramona seat and Mitchell Maher and Amber Malisch for the Rutland seat.

Hellwege said that heavily contested local races can indicate what voters are most concerned about in their counties.

“At the local level, when things are going well, you don’t really think about it, right? Like, ‘My electricity is on, my streets are working’ and you don’t think of those as political issues necessarily. Local elections, in particular, you tend to think of when something goes wrong. And so that’s when you need to go and do something about it,” Hellwege said.