PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Voters registered as no-party and independents form South Dakota’s second largest bloc, but they haven’t been showing as much interest in voting early this fall as Republicans and Democrats have.
That’s according to absentee ballot data collected from county auditors each week by the South Dakota Secretary of State office.
Here’s a summary of the latest statewide totals.
Independent and no-party registrations totaled 155,870 as of Wednesday morning. That was 25.16% of total active voters, the second-largest bloc in South Dakota. But Independents and NPA voters had requested or voted 11,940 absentee ballots through last Friday; that was 20.82% of the total distributed so far, which was smaller than their share of registrations.
Republican registrations totaled 314,285 as of Wednesday morning. That was 50.74% of total active voters, making them South Dakota’s largest bloc. Republicans have requested or voted 29,660 absentee ballots; that was 51.72% of the total absentee ballots distributed so far, which was larger than the Republicans’ share of registrations.
Democratic registrations numbered 145,238 as of Wednesday morning. That was 23.45% of total active voters, making them the third-largest group. Democrats have requested or voted 15,496 absentee ballots through last Friday; that was 27.02% of the total so far, which was more than the Democrats’ share of registrations.
Monday, October 21, is the last day to register to vote in South Dakota’s general election this fall. County auditors must receive the completed registration form by 5 p.m. local time on Monday. You can download a registration form and mail it to your county auditor, or visit various locations including the county auditor office. If you don’t know whether you’re registered, or want to check your registration or see a sample ballot, you can look online.
People can request absentee ballots from their county auditors and return them by mail or in person. They also can vote vote absentee in person at their county auditor’s office. The general election is November 5.
