South Dakota’s Republican gubernatorial runoff election will be held Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
Republican voters will choose between Toby Doeden and Gov. Larry Rhoden. The winner will become the Republican nominee for governor in the November general election.
Why is there a runoff?
South Dakota law requires a runoff when no candidate for a party’s nomination for Governor, U.S. Senate or U.S. House receives at least 35 percent of the vote in the primary election.
No Republican gubernatorial candidate reached that threshold in the June 2 primary. Doeden and Rhoden received the highest numbers of votes and advanced to the runoff.
The runoff ballot contains only the Republican race for governor.
Who can vote?
Because this is a Republican Party runoff, voters must have been registered as Republicans by the July 13 voter-registration deadline to participate.
Voters registered as Democrats, Libertarians, independents, no-party-affiliation voters or members of another party are not eligible to vote in the Republican runoff.
Voters can confirm their registration through the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Voter Information Portal.
Where can Yankton County residents vote?
Yankton County uses vote centers. Eligible Yankton County voters may cast their ballots at any of the following locations, regardless of where they live in the county:
- Yankton City Hall, 416 Walnut St., Yankton
- Yankton Fire Station No. 2, 201 W. 23rd St., Yankton
- Gayville Community Center, 404 Washington St., Gayville
- Mayfield Store, 44398 SD Highway 46, Irene
- Lesterville Fire Hall, 212 Main Ave., Lesterville
- Lewis and Clark Recreation Area, 43349 SD Highway 52, Yankton
All vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters who are in line when the polls close will still be permitted to vote.
Is absentee voting still available?
Registered Republican voters may vote absentee in person in the Yankton County Commission Chambers at the Yankton County Government Center, 321 W. 3rd St. in Yankton.
In-person absentee voting is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during regular county business hours through Monday, July 27.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is also 5 p.m. Monday. Because Election Day is so close, voters who have not already requested a mailed ballot should consider voting absentee in person.
According to information on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website, completed absentee ballots must reach the Yankton County Auditor’s Office in time to be delivered to a vote center before polls close on Election Day. Voters should confirm Yankton County’s specific return process with the Auditor’s Office.
Additional information is available on the Secretary of State’s absentee-voting page.
What identification is required?
Voters are asked to bring one of the following forms of photo identification:
- A South Dakota driver’s license or nondriver identification card
- A U.S. government-issued photo ID, including a passport
- A U.S. Armed Forces identification card
- A current student photo ID from a South Dakota high school or an accredited college, university or technical school
- A tribal photo ID
A voter who does not have an acceptable photo ID may sign a personal identification affidavit and cast a regular ballot.
Information available online
At the time this article was prepared, The Heartland Community Ledger was able to find very little information about the July 28 runoff election on the Yankton County website. Voters seeking information online may find the South Dakota Secretary of State’s election resources more helpful.
Voters with questions may also call the Yankton County Auditor’s Office at 605-260-4400, option 0. The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sources
Note: Some South Dakota Secretary of State links open near the top of a larger webpage. Readers may need to scroll down to find the specific election information referenced in this article.
- South Dakota Secretary of State: 2026 Election Information
- South Dakota Voter Information Portal
- South Dakota Absentee-Voting Information
- South Dakota Voting and Identification Information
- SDCL 12-6-51.1: Gubernatorial Runoff Elections
- SDCL 12-6-26: Eligibility to Vote a Party Ballot
- Yankton County Auditor’s Office
Excellent and informative article Valli.
Keep up the good work.