2016 South Dakota Codified Laws
Title 12 - ELECTIONS
Chapter 28 - Government Accountability and Anti-Corruption
§ 12-28-17 Contents of democracy credits.

12-28-17. Contents of democracy credits. Each democracy credit shall:

(1) State the voter's name, a unique and non-sequential democracy credit identification number, and the election year for which the democracy credit is valid;

(2) Provide a space for the voter to designate the name and office sought of the candidate to whom the voter chooses to assign the democracy credit;

(3) Require the voter to enter the voter's date of birth, as well as any other verification information required by the commission by rule that is reasonable and not overly burdensome for the voter to provide, in a designated area on the democracy credit for verification purposes; and

(4) Provide a blank space for the voter to sign and date these words of assignment and agreement in substantially the following form: "I attest that I am a registered voter and resident of the State of South Dakota. I attest that I obtained this democracy credit properly and make this assignment freely, voluntarily and without duress or in exchange for any payment of any kind for this assignment, and not for any consideration of any kind, and that I am aware that assignment does not guarantee availability of funds and is irrevocable. I understand that assignment is complete upon delivery to the South Dakota Ethics Commission, the named candidate, or the candidate's registered representative. I understand that sale or transfer for consideration of this democracy credit is strictly prohibited. I understand that if I have been approached by a person attempting to collect democracy credits on behalf of a participating candidate that the person shall produce upon request official documentation showing that the person has been certified by the Ethics Commission as a registered representative of the participating candidate. I understand that a democracy credit may be redeemed only by participating candidates and only if such candidate has complied with all applicable campaign finance laws and if funds are available."

A democracy credit, as well as any attached instructions, shall contain the following statement or substantially the same: "In order to redeem the democracy credit you are assigning, a candidate must be or become a participating candidate and not be or become ineligible to redeem democracy credits. You may check on the eligibility status of any candidate by calling the South Dakota Ethics Commission or visiting its website," followed by the phone number of the commission line for this purpose and the direct address to the section of the commission website detailing current candidate eligibility.

Source: Initiated Measure 22, § 45, eff. Nov. 16, 2016.