The County Sheriff is the chief law enforcement official of the county and is responsible for ensuring that all local, state, and federal laws are followed.
Must be 21 years of age and have a certificate from Law Enforcement Officers Standards Commission by the filing deadline. Call 773-3584. Must be a registered elector who is living in the area they seek to represent at the time of the election.
Filing Requirements
Any candidate for election to the office of county sheriff shall file with the county auditor by the last Tuesday of March of the election year a certification of qualification issued by the law enforcement officers standards commission that the candidate meets the qualifications provided in SS 23-3-43. Each candidate needs to circulate a nominating petition and achieve the required amount of signatures. The required amount of signatures is based off of the last gubernatorial election. For a partisan candidate, you must obtain 1% of the total vote for your political party's candidate for governor at the last gubernatorial election or a maximum of 50, whichever is less, in the county or commissioner district (SDCL 12-6-7.1). An independent candidate must obtain 1% of the total vote for all candidates for governor at the last gubernatorial election in the county or commissioner district (SDCL 12-7-1). Candidates must obtain signatures from the political party they are registered to vote with; however, independent candidates may gather signatures from any registered voter. A candidate can purchase a voter registration list from the county auditor. The county auditor is allowed under law to charge for the voter list.