MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson announced that Robert Arnold will not appear on the South Dakota Primary Election ballot as a Democratic candidate for governor after failing to meet signature requirements.
According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Democratic gubernatorial candidates must submit at least 1,232 valid petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. As required under state law (SDCL § 12-1-36), officials conducted a random sample of Arnold’s submitted signatures to verify validity.
Arnold turned in 1,407 total signatures. However, the sampling process determined that 79.51% were valid, resulting in an estimated 1,119 valid signatures — below the required threshold.
Because the total number of valid signatures fell short, Arnold’s name will not be included on the primary ballot.
A full list of candidates who have qualified for the Primary Election is available on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website at: https://vip.sdsos.gov/candidatelist.aspx?eid=773.