Deadline to file nominating petitions for some municipal and school board elections

The deadline to file nominating petitions for some municipal and school board elections is March 24th, 2026.

The legislature changed the municipal and school board election date options to mandate they will occur on either the primary day or the fall general election day. If your municipality or school board chose the primary day, the nominating petition filing deadline is March 24th, 2026. Check with city or school board to see which they chose and what positions are up for competitive elections.

Please check with each municipality or school board for the time-of-day the nominating petitions must be filed or postmarked (as registered mail)…but we think it is 5 pm.

SD SOS info sheet – https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/2026%20Documents/CitySchoolCalendars.pdf