South Dakota voters can begin casting absentee ballots Friday, Sept. 18, for the Nov. 3 general election, opening a 46-day voting period that gives residents an alternative to waiting for Election Day. The Secretary of State’s 2026 election calendar sets Oct. 19 as the voter-registration deadline and confirms Sept. 18 as the first day of absentee voting.

For in-person voting, a registered voter may go to the county auditor’s office during regular business hours after absentee voting begins. The state’s absentee-voting guidance says voters should bring an acceptable photo ID, such as a South Dakota driver’s license, tribal ID or federal identification. A voter who does not have an acceptable photo ID must still be offered the option of signing a personal-identification affidavit and casting a regular ballot. Office locations and hours vary by county, so voters should check with their auditor before traveling.

Voting by mail requires more lead time. A voter must print and sign an absentee-ballot application and send the original to the county election official; most voters cannot submit the application by email or fax. The application generally must be notarized or accompanied by a copy of an acceptable ID, according to a South Dakota Searchlight guide to the process. Military and overseas voters use separate federal procedures that permit electronic delivery of the request.

The controlling deadline is receipt, not the postmark. State guidance says a returned absentee ballot must reach the county election official in enough time to be delivered to the voter’s precinct before polls close on Nov. 3. That makes an early return the safer practical choice. People confined by sickness or disability may designate an authorized messenger to obtain and return a ballot; the messenger request must reach the auditor by 3 p.m. on Election Day.

Before applying, voters can use the state’s Voter Information Portal to confirm registration, identify their county election official, view a sample ballot and later check the status of an absentee ballot. Anyone who still needs to register or update an address must ensure the application is received by Oct. 19, rather than merely mailed that day.

The statewide ballot includes four proposed constitutional amendments. The Secretary of State’s official ballot-measure page lists questions concerning Medicaid-expansion funding, voter-citizenship language, an unclaimed-property trust fund and a proposed 60% approval threshold for future constitutional amendments. Voters will also decide federal, statewide, legislative and local contests depending on their residence.

Absentee voting changes when and where a voter casts a ballot, not which contests appear. The practical first steps are to verify registration, review the sample ballot and choose between an auditor-office visit and a mailed ballot early enough to avoid delivery risk. Voters using the mail option should also keep enough time to correct a rejected or incomplete request.