SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The total number of registered voters passed 609,000 as of Sept. 3, according to the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office.
After ending 2023 in December with 146,135 registered voters, the number of registered Democrats dropped to 143,914 in July. But the numbers are inching upward to 144,023 as of Sept. 3.
The number of registered Republicans has grown by about 10,000 voters since December of 2023 when there were 299,853 registered Republicans. As of Sept. 3, there were 309,869 registered Republicans.
“I know that we’ve been registering more voters,” said Dan Ahlers, the executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party. “One of the goals we set was to do a better job of registering voters.”
The Democratic Party is targeting more potential Democratic voters, Ahlers said. “We are looking for people who had been registered Democrats in the past, those who have moved here from another state. I think that has made a difference,” he said.
KELOLAND News left an email message and phone message with John Wiik, the chairman of the South Dakota Republican Party, but did not hear back as of publication.
The most recent numbers are as of Sept. 3, so they do not include any new registration numbers after the debate between Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. They also do not include any new registration numbers after pop artist Taylor Swift encouraged her fans known as “Swifties” to do their research and register to vote, while she also endorsed Harris for president.
CBS News reported on Sept. 12 that Swift’s social media statement drove 405,999 visitors to vote.gov, which is a voter registration site that directs users to a registration site near them. Swift included a link to vote.gov in her post.
Alhers said he’s not sure Swift’s statements will have an impact in South Dakota. The Democratic Party is not emphasizing it in South Dakota, because celebrity endorsements or that type of attention do not always do well in the conservative-leaning state, Ahlers said.
Still, it would be nice if Swift’s statements had a positive impact in voter registration, particularly for Democrats, but “we are not going to sit back and wait for it,” Ahlers said.
He does think the debate could have an impact on voter registration. There was an uptick after the Democratic National Convention, where Harris officially accepted the nomination for the presidency.
Regardless of party, the seven ballot measures in the state will draw voter interest and possibly, more voter registrations, Ahlers said.
States that have already voted on a Roe vs. Wade, or an abortion rights ballot measure did see some increases, Ahlers said.
South Dakota has Amendment G, which would reinstate abortion access in the state.
The state has been a Republican stronghold for the past several years.
As the state’s population has grown over the past 10 years, so has the number of registered Republicans. In December of 2015, there were 238,642 registered Republicans. There were 169,135 registered Democrats. The state had a total of 517,220 registered voters.
The state had 109,443 registered voters as Independents, no party affiliation and other, which were grouped together in that number.
Although the state has three Republican lawmakers at the federal level, a Republican governor and a dominant Republican make up in the state Legislature, Ahlers said Democratic, or potential Democratic voters, can’t let that discourage them.
“I remind people this is a long game,” Ahlers said. “We won’t dig ourselves out of a hole overnight.”
It wasn’t that long ago when Democrats served at the federal level, he said as an example.
Democrat Tom Daschle served in the U.S. Senate from 1987 to 2005 and Democrat Tim Johnson served in the U.S. House from 1997 to 2015.
If Harris hits 40 to 45% of the presidential vote in the state, that’s a good sign for the Democratic Party, Ahlers said. In the future, South Dakota won’t turn from a red state to a blue state, Ahlers said, it could turn purple with more of a mix of Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
