FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 04.15.2026
Contact:
Sue Ganje
Fall River County Auditor
605-745-5130
[email protected]
Absentee Ballots Not Available at Start of Voting Period for June 2 Primary
Fall River County, SD — The Fall River County Auditor’s Office is notifying voters that absentee ballots for the upcoming June 2 Primary Election will not be available on the first day of the absentee voting period.
Under South Dakota law, absentee voting is scheduled to begin 46 days prior to an election pursuant to SDCL 12-19-1.2. However, the candidate petition filing deadline was March 31, as established in SDCL 12-6-4, which determines the final list of candidates to appear on the ballot.
Because ballots cannot be finalized until after the petition filing deadline has passed and candidate eligibility is confirmed, additional time is required for ballot preparation, including certification, layout, programming, proofing,
and printing.
This statutory timing results in a brief delay between the start of the absentee voting period and the availability of ballots.
The Auditor’s Office is working diligently to complete this process as quickly as possible. Once ballots are
available:
Absentee ballots will be mailed immediately to voters who have submitted applications
In-person absentee voting will begin at the Auditor’s Office
Updates will be shared through the county website, local media, and official communication channels
“This delay is a function of state law timelines that require final candidate filings before ballots can be prepared,” said Sue Ganje, Fall River County Auditor. “Our office is committed to ensuring ballots are accurate and available as soon as possible.”
Voters are encouraged to:
Submit absentee ballot applications early
Verify voter registration information
Monitor official county communications for updates
The deadline to request an absentee ballot remains 5:00 p.m. the day before the election, pursuant to SDCL 12-19-2.
EARLY VOTING
Fall River County’s New Alert System
Fall River County has switched to a new alert system. County emergency alerts will now be sent out using the Everbridge system instead of CodeRED. A link to sign up for Everbridge is located on the Fall River County website homepage.
This system enables us to provide you with critical information quickly in a variety of situations, such as wildfire evacuations, severe weather, unexpected road closures, flooding, and public safety power shutoffs.
You choose how you receive messages, such as your home, mobile or business phones, email address, text messages and more. You also choose the locations you want alerts for such as your home, business, a family member’s home, or your storage unit. You pick where, you pick how.
I signed up for CodeRED prior to March 2025 |
I signed up for CodeRED during or after March 2025 |
| If you signed up for CodeRED prior to March 2025 then your registered contact information was transferred to Everbridge. We would still encourage you to sign up with the new Everbridge system for two reasons. 1. There is not a way for you to log-in and change your contact information that was transferred from CodeRED. 2. Any weather alerts you signed up for did not transfer over from CodeRED. (If you have the mobile app you may still get weather alerts there.) If I do this, won’t I end up signed up twice? We check the new Everbridge registrations. When one is a duplicate of a CodeRED transfer we delete the old CodeRED information. |
| If you signed up for CodeRED during or after March 2025 your registration was not part of the system backup from the CodeRED data breach. This means your contact information was lost, and you are not currently signed up for alerts. Please register with Everbridge. |
Other Questions:
What about the CodeRED data breach? What information was stolen? According to the final report we received from CodeRED, while the attack on their system corrupted much of the data in their database there was little evidence of the data being extracted.
What about the CodeRED mobile app? The old CodeRED app does not appear to be working since the data breach happened. We would recommend removing it from your phone.
Does Everbridge have an app? Yes, search for ‘Public Safety by Everbridge’ in the Google Play or App store. This is also the same app used the by the City of Hot Springs Police Department. So if you already have that app just add Fall River County as another of your organizations.
Absentee (Early Voting) Information
Absentee Voting is scheduled to start April 17,2026 , however, due to petition challenges Statewide, absentee voting may be delayed until all challenges are complete.
SKYWARN Spotter Training
SKYWARN Spotter Training. In-person training in Hot Springs, SD
Fall River County South Annex Building, 709 Jensen Highway, Hot Springs SD on April 8th at 6pm.
Learn cloud & storm recognition, safety & preparedness tips. Classes are Free and open to all.
Hosted by Fall River County OEM
Deadline to Appeal Property Value
Reminder! The deadline to file an appeal on your property value is April 7th. The property valuation you received this March will be used to calculate your taxes in January 2027. You cannot appeal your taxes only your assessment value.
You need to file a written appeal with the county before the deadline (postmarks count).
Contact: [email protected] or 605-745-5136
