In South Dakota, who actually sits on a county political party's central committee, and who decides who fills a vacancy if a county nominee or a joint legislative district nominee drops out?
Plain-English summary
The 1968 election cycle generated a steady stream of questions about how political parties in South Dakota actually operate at the county level. The AG sorted seven related questions about who is on a county central committee, who participates in party meetings, which body fills nomination vacancies, and how the vote to fill a vacancy is conducted. The answers all turned on the language of two statutes: SDC 16.0241 (the county organization statute, as amended in 1963) and SDC 16.0243 (the vacancy-in-nomination statute).
The composition rule was simple. The county central committee is just the precinct committeemen and committeewomen elected at the primary election. Nothing more. The broader "county political organization" that meets on the last Tuesday in June after the primary is a different body: it is the central committee plus the party's nominated candidates, and that broader body has authority over party officers, the state committeeman and committeewoman, and party strategy. But the narrow central committee is the precinct slate alone.
That distinction mattered because it answered the question of who could vote on party business. Delegates elected to the state convention were "elected," not "nominated candidates," so they were not part of the county political organization for that year and could not vote in the meeting. A sitting county commissioner whose term was not up for reelection that year was likewise an "elected candidate," not a nominee, and could not vote either.
On filling vacancies, SDC 16.0243 spelled out the procedure. A vacancy in nomination for a county office is filled by the party's county central committee in the county where the vacancy occurred. A vacancy in a joint legislative district nomination is filled by the central committees of every county in that joint district, meeting together. The state committeemen do not have a role at this level; SDC 16.0243's unit-vote rule for state-level vacancies does not reach down to county or joint legislative district offices.
The AG closed with a practical rule about how the vote itself works. Proxy voting is not allowed unless a statute authorizes it, and SDC 16.0243 does not. So when the committee meets to pick a replacement nominee, only committee members physically present cast votes, each member gets one vote, and a majority of those present carries the selection. Absent members cannot send a substitute or hand a proxy to another member.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1968. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here. The SDC statutes cited in this opinion (SDC 16.0241 and SDC 16.0243) have been recodified into the current South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL Title 12). Modern South Dakota campaign and election law is found in SDCL Title 12 and varies in detail from the 1968 framework. Anyone administering a party meeting or certifying a replacement nominee today should check the current SDCL provisions and the Secretary of State's election manuals.
What the opinion meant at the time
For county party chairs and central committee members, the opinion clarified that the only people who could cast a vote at the formal party organization meeting were precinct committeemen, committeewomen, and the nominated candidates for that year. Sitting officeholders without an active nomination on the ballot were welcome to attend and participate in discussion, but they had no vote. State convention delegates were in the same posture.
For candidates fielded by a party in a joint legislative district, the opinion confirmed who could replace them on the ballot if they withdrew. The combined central committees of every county within the joint district had the exclusive authority. A nominee who dropped out late in the campaign could not be replaced by a meeting of one county committee acting alone if the district straddled more than one county.
For county auditors and the Secretary of State's office receiving certifications of replacement nominees, the opinion answered the question of which body's signature should appear on a vacancy certification. For county offices, the certification came from the party central committee of that county. For joint legislative districts, certifications had to reflect joint action by the committees of every county comprising the district.
For anyone planning to send a substitute or cast a vote by phone or by written proxy at a vacancy meeting, the opinion was a hard no. Without statutory authorization, only members physically present at the meeting could vote.
Common questions
Q: Who is on the county central committee?
A: Just the precinct committeemen and committeewomen who were elected at the primary. The opinion treated this as settled by the first sentence of SDC 16.0241 as amended, and by the AG's prior 1963-64 opinion on the same point.
Q: Can a county commissioner whose term does not expire this year vote in the county party organization meeting?
A: No. A sitting commissioner not running that cycle was an "elected candidate," not a "nominated candidate," and SDC 16.0241 limited the broader party organization meeting to the central committee plus this year's nominated candidates.
Q: Can delegates to the state convention vote in the county party meeting?
A: No, for the same reason. Delegates were "elected" at the primary, not "nominated candidates," so they were not part of the county political organization meeting.
Q: If our county nominee withdraws after the primary, who picks the replacement?
A: The party's county central committee of that county. SDC 16.0243 gave that committee the exclusive authority to fill a vacancy in a county nomination.
Q: What about a vacancy in a joint legislative district nomination?
A: The county central committees of every county within the joint district pick the replacement, acting together. No single county committee can act alone for a multi-county district.
Q: Can a committee member who cannot attend the vacancy meeting send a proxy to vote for them?
A: No. Proxy voting is not allowed unless a statute authorizes it, and SDC 16.0243 did not. Only members physically present could vote, each had one vote, and a majority of those present decided.
Q: Could the broader county political organization meet more than once during the campaign?
A: Yes. SDC 16.0241 set one statutory meeting date (last Tuesday in June after the primary), but the AG concluded that the statute did not bar the county chair from calling additional meetings during the campaign to set strategy. The central committee plus the nominated candidates had authority to determine the course of the county campaign at those meetings.
Q: Who could be elected to the party officer positions, like county chair or treasurer?
A: A 1941-42 AGR opinion held that a nominated candidate could be elected to a party officer position. The 1968 AG added that, subject to the six limitations in SDC 16.0241 itself, any resident of the county could be elected to those positions.
Background and statutory framework
South Dakota's 1968 political-party code organized parties at three levels: the precinct level (where committeemen and committeewomen were elected at the primary), the county level (where those precinct people plus the year's nominated candidates organized the county campaign), and the state level (where elected delegates attended the state convention). SDC 16.0241 governed the county organization, and Sec. 6 of Chapter 107 of the 1963 Session Laws had revised that section to its 1968 form.
The statute used two different terms for two overlapping bodies. The "county central committee" was the precinct committeemen and committeewomen. The "county political organization" was that central committee together with the nominated candidates of the party. The opinion read the statute literally and concluded that the difference between those two terms was load-bearing: certain actions (filling vacancies in nominations, filling vacancies on the central committee itself) were reserved to the narrow central committee, while other actions (electing party officers, setting campaign direction) belonged to the broader political organization meeting that included the nominees.
SDC 16.0243 was the parallel vacancy statute. It set up a hierarchy depending on the office: vacancies in state-level nominations were filled by state committeemen using a unit-vote rule weighted by Governor vote, but vacancies at county and joint legislative district levels were filled by the relevant central committee or committees acting under a one-member-one-vote majority rule.
The opinion drew on the AG's own earlier opinions for the underlying interpretive principles: 1929-30 AGR 169 and 1947-48 AGR 293 (delegates are elected, not nominees), 1941-42 AGR 398 (a candidate may serve as a party officer), and 1933-34 AGR 309 (county central committee's exclusive authority to fill county nominations). The 1968 opinion stitched those together with the 1963 amendments to give a single readable answer to the seven 1968 campaign questions.
Citations and references
Statutes:
- SDC 16.0241, as last amended by Sec. 6, Chapter 107, Session Laws of 1963 (county central committee composition; meetings of county political organization)
- SDC 16.0243 (procedure for filling vacancies in nomination by political parties)
Prior AG opinions referenced:
- 1929-30 AGR 169
- 1930-32 AGR 190
- 1933-34 AGR 309
- 1941-42 AGR 398
- 1947-48 AGR 293
- 1963-64 AGR 379
Source
Original opinion text
Political Parties. Who makes up the County Central Committee? Who participates in County Party Organization and other political meetings? Who fills vacancies in political nominations for county and joint legislative districts?
You have advised that because of the interest in the 1968 political campaign that your office has received many requests for information on the subject of the County Central Committees, and filling vacancies in nominations by political parties.
You have advised that most of such questions concern themselves with SDC 16.0241, as amended by Section 6 of Chapter 107 of the Session Laws of 1963, and SDC 16.0243.
The questions you have submitted are as follows:
- Who makes up the County Central Committee for a political party?
- Are delegates to the state convention entitled to participate in the county political organization?
- Would County Commissioners whose term of office does not expire during the particular political year be entitled to participate in the county political organization?
- In what political affairs may the candidates for public office in the county participate?
- In case there is a vacancy in nomination for a county office, who selects the person to fill such vacancy on behalf of a political party?
- In case of a vacancy in nomination for a nominee to a joint legislative district, who selects the person to fill such vacancy on behalf of a political party?
- What procedure is to be followed in making the selections of the person to fill a vacancy as set forth in questions 5 and 6?
QUESTION 1
SDC 16.0241, as last amended by Sec. 6, Chapter 107, Laws of 1963, solves this problem. The difficulty that arises from the language of the statute is a failure to distinguish between the county political organization which is broader than the County Central Committee. As I said in my opinion reported in 1963-64 AGR 379, in answer to the direct question: "Who comprises the County Central Committee,"
"The composition of the County Central Committee comprises the precinct committeemen and precinct committeewomen elected at the primary election."
This is as is provided in the first sentence of SDC 16.0241, as amended. (See also 1930-32 AGR 190 which infers the same conclusion.)
QUESTION 2 and 3
These two questions may be answered together and the answer to each is in the NEGATIVE.
The incumbent County Commissioners and the delegates elected to the state convention, as such, are not members of the County Central Committee. By the statute (SDC 16.0241, as amended) the county political organization consists of the County Central Committee,
"together with the nominated candidates of their party, (who) shall meet at the county seat of their county at eight o'clock p.m. on the last Tuesday in June following the primary election, and proceed to form their party organization"
As my predecessor said in 1929-30 AGR 169, and 1947-48 AGR 293, delegates to the state convention are "elected" at the primary. They are not nominated candidates. Such delegates are not authorized to participate in the county political organization. Likewise, an incumbent County Commissioner whose term will not expire during such election year, is not a nominated candidate during that year, he is an "elected candidate." He is not legally authorized to participate in the county political organization.
QUESTION 4
In forming the county party organization, under SDC 16.0241, as amended, the County Central Committee together with the elected candidates form the county party organization. The election of the county chairman and vice chairman, secretary and treasurer, and the state committeeman and state committeewoman is performed by the Central Committee and the nominated candidates. (Incidentally, in 1941-42 AGR 398, it was held that a candidate could be elected to be an officer of such county party organization. I might add that it is my opinion that subject to the six limitations placed in the statute itself, any resident of the county could be so elected to the county party organization.)
The statute also provides that in filling vacancies in the County Central Committee, or of an officer of such party organization, only the "County Central Committee" has authority to act. Thus in this area, the nominated candidates cannot act.
We can appreciate that during a political campaign many questions of strategy may arise. It is my opinion that SDC 16.0241, in providing for one specific date for meeting did not intend to limit the county political organization from meeting on different occasions on the call of its county chairman. In these meetings, it is my opinion that the County Central Committee and the nominated candidates have authority to determine the course of action to be taken in the county political campaign.
QUESTIONS 5 and 6
These questions may be considered together, as the answer to each lies in SDC 16.0243. This statute provides for filling vacancies in nomination by political parties throughout the entire slate of nominees for political office.
The statute insofar as it is applicable to a vacancy in nomination for a county office, provides the vacancy, under the proper conditions, may be filled by the party County Central Committee of the county in which such vacancy occurs. Likewise, when the vacancy is in nomination for a joint legislative district, if the statutory conditions are present, it is filled by the party County Central Committees of each of the counties comprising the joint legislative district.
As I have previously advised, the party County Central Committee is limited to the precinct committeemen and committeewomen of such affected county, in case of a county office. It must follow in the joint legislative district it is these committeemen and committeewomen of all affected counties.
It is this group, the County Central Committee or Committees of the particular political party, that have the exclusive authority to fill such vacancy. See 1933-34 AGR 309.
QUESTION 7
It is axiomatic in our political policy, that "proxy" voting, unless authorized by statute, is not permitted. It is my opinion that initially whether a meeting is called to fill a vacancy in party nomination for either a county office or a joint legislative district, that only the County Central Committee members that appear and participate in selection to fill the vacancy can vote on the proposition, and no vote can be cast either as a proxy or agent of any committee member not present.
While there may be many theories advanced as to the proper method of proceeding to select a person to fill a vacancy in nomination, to discuss and analyze the merits thereof would be academic, for the reason that the statute itself (SDC 16.0243) provides the exclusive method of determining the person to fill a vacancy in nomination either for a county office or a joint legislative district office. Said statute, in part, provides:
"Vacancies filled by state committeemen shall be by unit representation, each committeeman casting the number of votes cast in his county as the last general election for his party's candidate for Governor; all other vacancies shall be filled by a majority vote of the committeemen."
The selection to fill a vacancy in either county office, or for a joint legislative district, is not a function of the State committeemen. This is a function solely entrusted either to the Party County Central Committee, in case of a county nominee for office, or all of the County Central Committees of the counties in a joint legislative district.
In making such selection each County Central Committeeman present at such meeting has but a single vote to determine who should fill such vacancy. None has the right to cast a vote for an absent committeeman. A majority of the votes of those present at such meeting, be it a county meeting, or a joint legislative district meeting, determines who shall be certified as the person to fill such vacancy, and be the party nominee for the political office in question.