South Dakota Attorney General

Employer / Organization

South Dakota

Next Election

Nov 08, 2022

Filing Window

Jan 01, 2022 - Apr 26, 2022

Description

The Attorney General of South Dakota is an elected executive position in the South Dakota state government. As the state's chief legal officer, the attorney general has three major duties: help local and state law enforcement officials fight crime, represent state officials in legal manners and enforce consumer protection laws in the state. The attorney general is popularly elected every four years in the midterm elections and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms in office. The attorney general has a variety of duties: prosecuting and defending all actions in which the state has an interest, civil or criminal, in the Supreme Court, including all criminal appeals; serving as legal advisor to the governor and other constitutional officers; defending the laws and the constitution of South Dakota; serving as legal advisor to many of the state's boards and agencies; consulting with and advising state's attorneys, and in some circumstances providing assistance in prosecuting criminal cases; issuing legal opinions upon the request of the governor, legislature or certain state and local officials; investigating and prosecuting drug cases and major felonies, including such crimes as homicide, burglary and kidnapping; protecting South Dakota consumers from scams and fraudulent activity; investigating and prosecuting Medicaid fraud throughout the state; operating the state forensic crime laboratory. The salary for this position is $103,892/year.

Application Guidelines
To file for this position follow these three steps: 1) Contact the South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. Obtain the correct candidacy filing paperwork. 2) Complete the required candidacy paperwork including the appropriate campaign finance forms and (if you plan to run as an independent) a nominating petition. Nominating petition instructions can be found here: https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/assets/HowtoCirculateNomPetitionStateLegCountyCandidates.pdf. If you plan to run as a partisan candidate please contact your local party office for further instructions. 3) Submit the nominating petitions with the stipulated amount of signatures to the South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division by the filing deadline. The amount of required nominating petition signatures varies by office. The filing window for independents runs from the 1st of January until the last Tuesday of April at 5pm. The South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division is the point of contact for any questions or concerns you may have. The South Dakota Secretary of State Election Services Division can be reached at (605) 773-3537 and the Election Services Division website can be found here: https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/nominating-petitions/qualifications-office-term-limits.aspx.

Submit application to:
South Dakota Secretary of State, 500 E Capitol Ave #204, Pierre, SD, 57501, US