An Act to require the secretary of state to publish the numbers pertaining to the collection of signatures on a nominating petition.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 12-6:

The secretary of state shall publish the number of required signatures for each nominating petition listed in § 12-6-7 or 12-7-1, on the secretary of state's website no later than January second in the year of an election.

Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 12-6:

Any individual registered as a voter, as provided for in chapter 12-4, may submit an affidavit stating that the numbers published by the secretary of state pursuant to section 1 of this Act, are inaccurate. The affidavit must include an itemized list of the alleged inaccuracies. The affidavit must be submitted to the secretary of state no later than January sixteenth in the year of the election by five p.m. central time. All challenges by the same individual must be included in one affidavit.

The decision of the secretary of state regarding a challenge under this section may not be challenged a second time with the secretary of state but may be appealed to the circuit court in Hughes County. An appeal challenging the numbers published by the secretary of state, pursuant to section 1 of this Act, takes precedence over any other case in the circuit court. Any party appealing the circuit court order to the Supreme Court must file a notice of appeal within ten days of the date of the notice of the entry of the circuit court order. A challenge under this section is the sole legal remedy to challenge the numbers published by the secretary of state.