---
type: "Bill"
title: "clarify the requirements for marking an optical scan ballot."
description: "clarify the requirements for marking an optical scan ballot."
jurisdiction: "us/states/sd"
legislature: "South Dakota Legislature"
session: "2026"
identifier: "SB 177"
citation: "South Dakota SB 177 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections", "Voting"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Blanc", "Goodwin", "Hulse", "Jordan", "Manhart", "Perry"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 15
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2026-01-29"
last_action: "2026-03-12"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1deb96e4-b7ff-4644-a9c8-076558691934"
source_url: "https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/27058"
source_hash: "e1658e5aec7a7cb2ca9c8d7d39c0fa6e799d72383ee950bc832cafc9d922a4ee"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-sd"]
---

# South Dakota SB 177 (2026) — clarify the requirements for marking an optical scan ballot.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/27058/299338)
2. **177C** (committee substitute) — [source](https://mylrc.sdlegislature.gov/api/Documents/301577.pdf)
3. **Senate State Affairs Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/27058/301898)
4. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/27058/305644)

## Votes

- Do Pass Amended — **7–0** (pass) · upper
- Do Pass — **11–1** (pass) · lower
- Do Pass Amended — **62–3** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Blanc — primary (person)
- Goodwin — primary (person)
- Hulse — primary (person)
- Jordan — primary (person)
- Manhart — primary (person)
- Perry — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-01-29** First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 141 `introduction, reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-04** Scheduled for hearing
- **2026-02-06** Scheduled for hearing S.J. 1
- **2026-02-06** State Affairs Motion to amend , Passed, S.J. 18 Amendment 177C `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage`
- **2026-02-06** State Affairs Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 7, NAYS 0 S.J. 18
- **2026-02-06** Certified uncontested, placed on consent , Passed, S.J. 18
- **2026-02-10** Senate Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 34, NAYS 0 S.J. 233
- **2026-02-11** First read in House and referred to House State Affairs H.J. 294 `introduction, reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-25** Scheduled for hearing
- **2026-02-25** State Affairs Do Pass , Passed, YEAS 11, NAYS 1 `committee-passage`
- **2026-03-02** House of Representatives Do Pass Amended , Passed, YEAS 62, NAYS 3 H.J. 475
- **2026-03-03** Signed by the President S.J. 448 `passage`
- **2026-03-04** Signed by the Speaker H.J. 516 `passage`
- **2026-03-05** Delivered to the Governor on 2026-03-05 S.J. 477 `executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-12** Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-12 S.J. 529 `executive-signature, executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1deb96e4-b7ff-4644-a9c8-076558691934`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official South Dakota legislature records).