In a continuing effort to help customers comply with social distancing requirements, Hughes County has installed a new drive up drop box just off the parking lot on the northeast side of the Courthouse in Pierre.
County manager Kevin Hipple says the drop box is an easy way for customers to deliver absentee ballots, tax payment or any other paperwork to offices in the courthouse.
There are also two drop boxes inside the courthouse.
Hipple says Hughes County residents may absentee vote in person, but he encourages them to vote absentee by mail.
Additional information is available at HughesCounty.org.
To receive an absentee ballot by mail, a voter must file an Absentee Ballot Application for an early/absentee ballot with the Finance Office at least 15 days prior to the election. The application cannot be submitted by fax or email. The voter can either mail back the application or drop it in one of the drop boxes. The application must include a copy of the voters personal identification (Driver’s License), the voter may send a photo of their ID by emailing it to: election@co.hughes.sd.us or the voter’s signature can be notarized or witnessed by an official who can administer an oath.
Once the voter has received the ballot and finished voting, the completed ballot can be placed in the new drop box located at the County Courthouse. To return by mail, the voter can place $1.20 of postage on the envelope and mail to: Hughes County Finance Office, 104 E Capitol Ave, Pierre, SD 57501.
The first half of property tax payments are still due by April 30. This drop box will allow them to drop off their payments right from their car. Taxes can still be paid by mail or can be dropped off in the drop box inside the building as well. Hughes County also is offering a new service to pay taxes online this year. Additional fees do apply to that service. In order to access the online payment system, visit our County web site at HughesCounty.org and click the Pay Taxes Here link at the top, right side of the home page. From there you can search by the owner’s name to find your property and the amount of taxes due.
