To limit the number of voters heading to the polls for the June primary elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic, South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett is taking steps to ensure as many as people as possible can vote by mail.

Barnett this week alert county auditors across the state via email that he intends to mail absentee ballot applications to all South Dakotans registered in the statewide voter registration files.

Voters who've already applied for an absentee ballot or in counties where auditors are sending out absentee ballot applications on their own will be exempt from the unsolicited mailing list, Barnett told the Argus Leader Friday.

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“Ensuring every South Dakota voter has access to exercise their right to vote is the goal of all election officials in our state," Barnett wrote in correspondence sent to auditors. "In response to the current pandemic, we are encouraging all South Dakotans to utilize our state’s absentee vote-by- mail option for our upcoming elections."

Counties where auditors are sending their own mailings include Meade, Douglas and Perkins.

It's unclear when the absentee ballot applications will be mailed, but Barnett will encourage voters to complete their application as soon as possible to allow for delivery and processing times. Once an application is verified by the county auditor, a ballot will be mailed back to the voter.

On the application forms, voters can request a ballot for any upcoming election registered with the Secretary of State's Office, whether it be municipal, school board, primary, general or special elections.

"It's one form for all elections," Sioux Falls City Clerk Tom Greco said. "They just plug it in for the applicable elections you selected."

The Sioux Falls city-school board election originally scheduled for April 14 has been delayed, with a new election date being proposed for June 2, the same day as South Dakota's primary election.

State law requires completed absentee ballot applications to be notarized or include a photocopy of an acceptable photo identification card, including a South Dakota driver’s license or non-driver ID card, tribal photo ID, passport or other picture ID issued by the United States government. A current student photo ID issued by a South Dakota high school or postsecondary education institution is also acceptable.

If voters don't have access to a copy machine or notary public, they can snap a photo of their ID using their phone or camera and email it directly to their county auditor.

County auditor contact information can be found on the Secretary of State’s website at www.sdsos.gov.

Anyone that doesn't receive an application and wants one can make a request through their county auditor or download the form on the Secretary of State’s website at www.sdsos.gov. South Dakota’s primary election will be held June 2, 2020.