South Dakota 2026 Session Status: Introduced

HB 1185 — require that a voter use a black ink ballpoint pen when marking an optical scan ballot.

Last action — Introduced

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 28, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

require that a voter use a black ink ballpoint pen when marking an optical scan ballot.

Bill Text

We don't have the full text on file for this bill yet.

Read HB 1185 on the official South Dakota source →

Action History

  1. Introduced

Sponsors

  • SD member #4783 · Primary

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 104 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

  • SD member #4783

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (104)

104 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 104 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Committee vote — House State Affairs

Passed 12 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 10001
Democratic 2000
Total 12001
% of votes cast 92%0%0%8%
How each member voted (13)
Member Party Vote
Eric Emery Democratic Yea
Erin Healy Democratic Yea
Bethany Soye Republican Not Voting
Brandei Schaefbauer Republican Yea
Greg Jamison Republican Yea
Jessica Bahmuller Republican Yea
Jon Hansen Republican Yea
Karla Lems Republican Yea
Leslie Heinemann Republican Yea
Marty Overweg Republican Yea
Scott Odenbach Republican Yea
Spencer Gosch Republican Yea
Tim Reisch Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1185 do?
require that a voter use a black ink ballpoint pen when marking an optical scan ballot.
Who sponsors HB 1185?
HB 1185 is sponsored by SD member #4783.
What is the current status of HB 1185?
This bill has been introduced in the House. Introduced January 28, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track HB 1185?
Track HB 1185 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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