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College Students

Voting South Dakota Resident

If you are a South Dakota resident who has moved to a new county to attend college, you can still vote. As a college student, you have two choices on where you register to vote.

1. Where you live now, whether that is an on-campus or off-campus address.
2. Remain registered and vote at your prior home address in South Dakota.

Students From Other States

Students who are from other states may choose to register to vote in South Dakota, or may vote absentee with their home state. Please visit your state's Secretary of State webpage to find any information on elections and voting.

Students Studying Abroad

If you will be out of the country and wish to vote, please cast an absentee ballot.

Register to Vote

In order to vote in any election in South Dakota, you must first be a registered voter. To vote in any election, the voter registration deadline is 15 days before the election. If you are not registered, please download a voter registration form on our voter registration page, then mail the form to your county election official.

How to Vote

Voting is easy and a right that you should not take for granted. You'll want to make sure to:

  • Know the location of your polling place
  • ID requirements

If you cannot make it to the polls on Election Day, please consider casting an absentee ballot.

In South Dakota, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The busiest times of day to vote are before and after normal working hours. If you can, try going at less-busy times. If you are in line by the time the polls close, you must be allowed to cast your vote.

John Lewis Youth Leadership Award

Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson is pleased to announce the introduction of the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award in South Dakota. Under this initiative, two South Dakotans will be eligible to win the award in 2025.

About John Lewis and the Award:
The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award was established in 2021 by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and aims to honor the extraordinary accomplishments of Congressman John Lewis.

His courageous achievements during the Civil Rights Movement and his long tenure of public service have inspired and will continue to inspire Americans for generations to come. In 1961, at the age of 21, Lewis was one of the original thirteen Freedom Riders. In 1963, Lewis was the youngest speaker at the March on Washington and also one of the “Big Six” leaders that organized the march. In 1965, Lewis helped lead the Selma to Montgomery marches. The first march took place on March 7, 1965 at the Edmund Pettus Bridge where unarmed marchers were attacked by state troopers. The event later became known as “Bloody Sunday” and was a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. Lewis’ activism at an early age continued throughout his life and he served as a U.S. Congressman for 33 years until he passed away in 2020.

The John Lewis Youth Leadership Award was created in February 2021, as a way for NASS members to recognize a gifted, civic-minded young person in their state each year. The recipient should demonstrate leadership abilities, have a passion for social justice, and be motivated to improve the quality of life in their community.

For more information about John Lewis, please visit:
https://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/individuals/john-lewis
https://www.johnrlewisinstitute.org/about-john-r-lewis
For more information about the John Lewis Youth Leadership Award, please visit:
https://www.nass.org/node/2208

Eligibility:

  • The recipient must be 25 years old or younger at the time of the award presentation.
  • The recipient is recognized in their community for being civic-minded and improving the quality of life in their community. The community must be in the awarding NASS Member’s state/territory (i.e., South Dakota).
  • The recipient has shown a meaningful commitment to address civil rights issues, including but not limited to voting rights, and to authentically bring about positive change in his or her community.
  • Examples could include youth leadership in a specific project or program, advocacy, or even literature as the Congressman also won a National Book Award for young people’s literature.

Submit a Nomination:

    • Complete the nomination form using this fillable PDF: nomination form
    • Please send a picture of the recipient along with this nomination form. Up to ten pages of supporting materials, including news releases, news articles, or social media posts may also be included as part of your submission, as long as they are digitized (no hard copies, please).
    • Submissions must be emailed to [email protected]by 5:00 p.m. Central Time (CT) on Wednesday, October 8, 2025 in order to be considered.

Disclaimer:
Entries may be used for social media and other marketing materials for the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office.

Still have questions?

Please call (605)773-3537 or email.