The Secretary of State has posted the latest voter registration figures by county. 1,654 voters moved from active to inactive status last month, but the total number of registered voters dropped by only 1,039. That means at least 615 new voters must have signed up to participate in democracy. Welcome to the rolls, 615 neighbors!
Voters trickled away from all three major columns in December. Democrats lost 707 registered voters, Republicans 320, and independents 16. The Libertarians lost 3 of their 1,659 registered voters. The Constitution Party held steady with its 471 voters. The Other column picked up 7 voters, rising to 789, the only December increase.
From January 3, 2017 to January 2, 2018, Democrats lost 10,646 voters, 6.24% of their base. Republicans shed 8,108 voters, 3.20%. Independent registration grew by only 76 voters, a 0.06% increase. Over 2017, total voter registration dropped 18,763, 3.42%.
These overall declines should not surprise. Over the past decade, voter registration has consistently dropped in odd years, then risen in even/election years as citizens get interested in voting and candidates and parties push to register new voters. Total voter registration increased 6.65% during 2016, so over the two year period, South Dakota has netted 3.00% more voters. Since January 2016, independent registrations have swelled 10.99% and Republicans have gained 3.31% while Democratic ranks have shrunk 4.39%.
Since the peak of Democratic registration in July 2009, the number of registered South Dakota Democrats has dropped by 46,160, 22.40%. Over the same eight and a half years, Republicans have seen a net gain of 2,737 voters (1.13%) and independents have grown by 34,404 (39.86%).