Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight
The county officials who run South Dakota’s elections want voters to study up and prepare for long wait times on Election Day, if they don’t plan to vote early.
As of Oct. 18, 62,572 South Dakotans had already voted in the 2024 general election — just over 10% of active voters. Early and absentee voting began Sept. 20.
That’s a bellwether of overall voter turnout, Secretary of State Monae Johnson said. Almost twice as many South Dakotans have cast absentee ballots this year compared to the same date prior to the 2022 election. About 59.4% of registered voters turned out for the midterm election.
Johnson estimates up to 75% voter turnout this election. The 2020 election had about 74% turnout; 2016 had about 69%.
“There’s a huge interest in the ballot we have,” Johnson said.
This year’s ballot not only includes a hotly contested presidential race, but a U.S. House of Representatives race, a Public Utilities Commission race, South Dakota Legislature races and seven ballot measures, plus local races and issues.
Given the size of the ballot, Johnson and county auditors are encouraging South Dakotans to utilize the South Dakota voter information portal on the secretary of state’s website. South Dakotans can check their voter registration status and view their sample ballot. South Dakotans have until 5 p.m. Monday to register to vote.
Voters can print, fill out and bring a sample ballot into the voting booth, Johnson added. South Dakotans can also bring a translated sample ballot.
State law limits South Dakotans to 10 minutes in a booth on Election Day, Johnson said. Sample ballots and absentee voting are options for people who need extra time.
“It’s not like they’re going to be removed,” Johnson said, “but it’s so people go in ready to cast their vote instead of figuring it out at the time of voting.”
Auditors are preparing for longer wait times and more standing in line for voters on Election Day, Nov. 5. That’s part of the reason why Pennington County Auditor Cindy Mohler believes more people than usual are voting early or requesting absentee ballots.
On the first day of in-person early voting in 2022, 206 people in Pennington County showed up to vote or request an absentee ballot in person. This year, the number rose to 602.
“We usually don’t see those kinds of numbers until the third week, and then it kind of keeps growing,” Mohler said.
With more people voting early, auditors answer more questions about election security as well. Security concerns and questions “are a little bit more amped up,” Lincoln County Auditor Sheri Lund said.
Residents question the validity of elections, ask how absentee voting works and want to know what security measures are in place. But that’s a good thing, Lund said. She and her staff explain how they’re keeping people’s ballots safe and secured before Election Day. One way they’ve done that is rekeying the vaults in which all ballots — including absentee ballots — are kept.
“People are more in tune,” Lund said. “They want to be reassured that their vote is going to count.”
Haakon County Auditor Stacy Pinney also doesn’t mind answering questions.
“I welcome it. As long as they’re civil and curious, I don’t have a problem answering them,” Pinney said. “I wish more people would.”
South Dakotans are not allowed to wear or bring items to a polling location that can be interpreted as campaign material for candidates or issues — that includes hats with campaign slogans, buttons or T-shirts with a candidate’s face on it. Auditors have asked people to remove the items or turn them inside out before voting.
Johnson hasn’t heard about county auditors struggling to find poll workers, though she encouraged South Dakotans to check with their local auditor to see if more workers are needed. She added that auditors work with local law enforcement to prepare security and safety measures the day of the election.