South Dakota: Voting Leave Requirements
The short answer
On election day, including a primary, a South Dakota employee entitled to vote may take up to two consecutive hours off to vote — unless the employee already has two consecutive hours to vote while the polls are open and off duty. The absence must be without any penalty or deduction from usual salary or wages, so it is paid. The employer may specify which hours the employee takes. Refusing the time, penalizing it, or docking pay is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in South Dakota. Ezel applies current South Dakota law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | S.D. Codified Laws § 12-3-5 |
|---|---|
| Eligible workers and elections | Any person entitled to vote at any election in the state, including a primary, on election day (§ 12-3-5) |
| Outside-work-hours test | No right if the person has 2 consecutive hours while the polls are open when not required to be at work (§ 12-3-5) |
| Time-off amount | Up to 2 consecutive hours to be absent, between poll opening and closing (§ 12-3-5) |
| Paid or unpaid | Paid: no penalty and no deduction from usual salary or wages for the absence (§ 12-3-5) |
| When leave is taken | The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent (§ 12-3-5) |
| Employee notice and employer posting | No employee-notice or employer-posting duty in § 12-3-5 |
| Protection and penalties | An employer that refuses the time, penalizes it, reduces wages, or otherwise violates the section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor (§ 12-3-5) |
Compare this rule across all 50 states + DC →
Two consecutive hours, unless you already have them
South Dakota gives an employee entitled to vote the right to be absent for "a
period of two consecutive hours between the time of opening and the time of
closing the polls" on election day, including a primary. The two hours must be
consecutive, not two separate blocks.
That right disappears if the employee already has "a period of two consecutive
hours during the time the polls are open during which he is not required to be
present at his work." An employee whose shift leaves a clear two-hour off-duty
window while the polls are open is not entitled to leave.
The time is paid
The statute is explicit that the absence costs nothing: the voter "is not,
because of so absenting himself, liable to any penalty, nor may any deduction be
made on account of such absence from his usual salary or wages." So a qualifying
two-hour voting absence is paid time.
The employer picks the hours
The employer keeps control of scheduling: it "may specify the hours during which
such employee may absent himself." The employee is entitled to the two-hour
window, but the employer can decide when in the day it falls.
What trips people up
The eligibility test is a mirror image of the entitlement. Because the trigger is
whether you lack two consecutive off-duty hours while the polls are open, a
standard daytime shift set well inside a longer poll-open window often means no
right to paid leave at all. The right is aimed at employees whose hours cover
most of the polling day.
Section 12-3-5 says nothing about advance notice or a posted workplace notice.
Giving your employer a heads-up is sensible, but the statute imposes no notice or
posting condition.
Common questions
How much time off do I get?
Up to two consecutive hours while the polls are open, and it is paid.
When would I not qualify?
If your off-duty time already includes two consecutive hours while the polls are
open.
Can my employer choose when I go?
Yes. The employer may specify the hours during which you take the two-hour
window.
What happens to an employer who refuses or docks pay?
That is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Statutes and sources
- S.D. Codified Laws § 12-3-5: the two-consecutive-hour right, the off-duty-time
exception, the no-penalty and no-wage-deduction rule, the employer's power to
set the hours, and the Class 2 misdemeanor penalty — official text
(accessed July 13, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
Get the answer for your situation
You just read how South Dakota handles this in general. Ezel applies current South Dakota law to your facts and answers your specific question, with citations.
Opens in Ezel Pro. Every answer cites the authority it relies on.