Start with the basics. After the next page, you can submit right away or
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Important legal disclaimer.
HOA Ballot is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Nothing
on this page, and nothing HOA Ballot says, does, or generates, is legal
advice or may be relied on as legally valid or sufficient. Your
association and its legal counsel are solely responsible for verifying
the approval threshold, legal compliance, amendment language, filing
requirements, and legal sufficiency of the vote. Please independently
verify all information and consult a licensed attorney. Statute
references on this page are shown for transparency about what we review;
they are not legal advice — confirm every requirement with your
association's attorney.
What we look for before quoting
A practical review, not legal advice
Planned communities (no SD-specific act)
South Dakota has not adopted a planned-community or common-interest-ownership statute, so a non-condominium HOA generally runs on its own recorded declaration and covenants (SDCL ch. 43-12) together with the South Dakota Nonprofit Corporation Act where the association is incorporated (SDCL ch. 47-22 through 47-28). That means the recorded CC&Rs, not a state statute, usually set the percentage of owners needed to amend and how the vote is run. We read your declaration first so the quote reflects the exact threshold your community actually uses.
Condominiums (SD condominium law, ch. 43-15A)
South Dakota condominiums are governed by the state's condominium law (SDCL ch. 43-15A), which a project opts into by recording a master deed with the county register of deeds (SDCL 43-15A-3). The chapter is relatively brief and does not itself fix a percentage for amending the master deed, so the recorded master deed and bylaws generally control the amendment threshold and procedure. The chapter refers to a "council of co-owners," which generally handles management and recreation-facility contracts for the project (SDCL 43-15A-24).
How the vote can run
Where the association is a nonprofit corporation, members may generally vote in person, by proxy, or by ballot, with a proxy generally valid for up to eleven months (SDCL 47-23-9). Members may also act without a meeting — by a ballot delivered to everyone entitled to vote (SDCL 47-23-9) or by unanimous written consent (SDCL 47-23-6). Ballots may generally be delivered by reasonable means, including mail or email, to the extent your bylaws and articles allow. South Dakota does not impose a specific ballot-secrecy rule for associations, so any secrecy and the exact notice steps come from your governing documents.
Before we quote
South Dakota details that shape your vote
These are the things we check so your quote and timeline are realistic —
not legal advice, just the questions a careful South Dakota vote has to answer.
South Dakota has no planned-community or common-interest act; non-condo HOAs rely on recorded covenants (SDCL ch. 43-12) and, if incorporated, the Nonprofit Corporation Act (SDCL ch. 47-22 through 47-28).
Condominiums use the state condominium law (SDCL ch. 43-15A); a project opts in by recording a master deed (SDCL 43-15A-3).
Neither the condominium law nor any HOA statute sets a default amendment percentage, so the recorded declaration or master deed controls the threshold (commonly a supermajority, sometimes unanimity, depending on the document).
Condominium master-deed amendments are generally recorded with the county register of deeds, as the master deed itself is (SDCL 43-15A-9); covenant amendments are likewise recorded in the county land records to bind future owners.
For incorporated associations, members may generally vote in person, by proxy (generally valid up to eleven months) or by ballot (SDCL 47-23-9), and may act without a meeting by unanimous written consent (SDCL 47-23-6).
Electronic or email ballot delivery may be available to the extent the bylaws and articles permit; no statute mandates a particular e-voting platform.
South Dakota does not impose a statutory ballot-secrecy or specific meeting-notice rule for associations, so secrecy and notice timing come from the bylaws or declaration.
Changes that shift a unit's undivided common-area interest, boundaries, or assessment and voting allocations, or that withdraw property from the condominium, often require the affected owner's or all co-owners' consent under the master deed.
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