Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight
Advance voting for the June 2 primary election is outpacing or on track to match the 2024 primary election in South Dakota, several county auditors say, despite a weeklong delay at the start.
Ballot printing was delayed this year due in part to a calendar quirk that created an unusually short window between the filing deadline for candidate petitions and the start of advance voting. South Dakotans can vote absentee before Election Day by mail or in-person at local county offices.
The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office has not published turnout information leading up to the June primary. The office published weekly updates during the 2024 election. South Dakota Searchlight has not received a response to a records request for the absentee ballot information.
Brown County Auditor Lynn Heupel said she expected her office to be busier this year because of the four-way race for the Republican nomination for governor and a local sheriff race. Aberdeen, the state’s third-largest city, is in Brown County.
As it has turned out, this year has been about the same as 2024.
“2024 was kind of slow, too,” Heupel said. “Turnout just isn’t as good as we were hoping.”
Statewide turnout in the 2024 primary election was 27% among Republicans and 7% among Democrats, independents and non-politically affiliated voters. Non-Republicans typically have shorter ballots in South Dakota primaries, and sometimes have nothing to vote on.
Heupel’s office had received 555 ballots as of May 14 — on track to match 2024, when the office received 1,370 absentee ballots by Election Day.
“Maybe people are waiting and will vote on Election Day,” Heupel said.
Harding County is slightly ahead of schedule. The remote county in the state’s northwest corner had 16 ballots cast as of Monday. In 2024, the county had 54 absentee ballot requests, 13 of which were returned by this time, said Auditor Kathy Glines.
Glines had raised concerns about mail-in absentee ballots being affected by the delayed start, but said the turnout so far hasn’t been impacted.
“At this point, there’s a lot of interest. People are asking if they can come in and vote, and they’re asking about absentee, but they haven’t voted yet,” Glines said. “They say, ‘As soon as I decide who I’m going to vote for.’ I think that’s the holdup.”
Auditors across the state said they expect in-person voting to pick up by the end of this week and into next week. The primary, which includes races for the Republican nominations for U.S. Senate, U.S. House and governor, along with legislative primaries, is combined with local elections statewide.
Voters had requested 1,034 ballots as of Tuesday in Lincoln County, which includes part of Sioux Falls. Auditor Sheri Lund’s office had received 724 returned ballots. In 2024, Lincoln County voters returned 516 ballots before the primary election — meaning the county has already surpassed its 2024 total with weeks to spare.
“We usually get bombarded the last few days,” Lund said.