Press "Enter" to skip to content

Voter Turnout Average, Lines at Sioux Falls Polls Longer

354,670 of South Dakota’s 597,073 registered voters participated in this year’s general election, bringing statewide voter turnout to 59.40%. That’s about average for a midterm election but 5+ percentage points lower than 2018’s 64.89% and notably below the recent midterm peak of 73.7% in 1994.

Voter turnout by county ranged from 31.70% in Oglala Lakota County to 73.14% in Gregory County.

South Dakota Secretary of State, voter turnout by county, election map retrieved 2022.11.11.
South Dakota Secretary of State, voter turnout by county, election map retrieved 2022.11.11.

In Minnehaha County, South Dakota’s most populous with 21.91% of South Dakota’s voters, only 57.76% of registered voters participated in the most basic expression of patriotic duty. Sioux Falls voters still faced longer lines than usual, thanks to the new lines on the Legislative map:

The League of Women Voters monitors election issues.

“So the biggest problem we heard was longer lines than usual,” said Amy Scott-Stoltz, Vice President of the South Dakota Chapter. “And that happens after the redistricting process” [Beth Warden, “Long Lines at the Polls and Possible Solutions in Minnehaha County,” KSFY, 2022.11.09].

If redistricting creates the voter jam, then we can expect lines to shorten in the next four elections, now that voters all know their district. But outgoing Minnehaha County auditor Ben Kyte says his coming replacement, radical election-denier Leah Anderson, could alleviate long waits to vote by opening more polling places:

There is a solution, according to Kyte. The incoming auditor could work with the county to create additional precincts, reducing the number of those who arrive to vote at each location [Warden, 2022.11.09].

Minnehaha County could also promote early voting, send out absentee ballots to every voter, and place more secure ballot drop boxes around the county. But the last thing Anderson and her cabal of Big Liars want to do is make it easier for people to vote. She wants to make less work for herself by kicking thousands of people off Minnehaha County’s voting rolls.

11 Comments

  1. Bonnie B Fairbank 2022-11-11 07:35

    Ben Kyte is correct. And, people need to quit being sheep about elections. “Uh, I always done been votin’ in a packed sewage treatment plant on ‘lection day. Wut else is there?”

    Depending upon circumstances and using some foresight and thoughtfulness, one can go to the county auditor’s office and vote early with (probably) no screaming children or coughing and sneezing adults too stupid to wear masks.

    It’s pleasant and quick.

  2. Richard Schriever 2022-11-11 10:49

    One can also request from the county auditor that one receive ALL ballots by mail for absentee voting.

  3. Bonnie B Fairbank 2022-11-11 13:01

    Thank you, Richard Schreiver.

    I did that for the 2020 election and was pleasantly surprised. I’ll “axe” again.

  4. P. Aitch 2022-11-11 13:34

    So many people voted absentee so often in CO that the state just sends everyone a mail in ballot automatically. You can also vote in all the other ways you do in SD. No. You can’t cheat the system and vote twice or vote with someone else’s ballot without getting caught.
    *Each voters return ballot envelope has two unique UPC codes and two unique QR codes as well as the voters’ signature on the outside of the envelope, which is immediately, electronically matched to the voter’s registration card.
    You can try to cheat and a few do. For some reason everyone that’s been caught are red hatted MAGA’s.

  5. Bonnie B Fairbank 2022-11-11 15:09

    Thank you, P. Aitch. I did not know that; I haven’t lived in Colorado since 2001, when I stupidly and unfortunately moved to South Dakota.

  6. P. Aitch 2022-11-11 16:56

    You’re welcome, mucho Bonnie. And please don’t think I’m man-splaining. Being male the tendency is always in need of corralling.

  7. ABC 2022-11-12 01:23

    Serfs are up!

    59% vote, 41% do not vote and are 14th century serfs! Imagine being a 21st century serf watching cat videos on your phone and then saying I’m not voting it’s not cool.

    You dig Putin or Chinese dictatorship, Hungarys de facto fascism?

    You can be a stupid American. Or you can grow up, grow a spine and a brain and a heart and Care enough about everyone and get out and EARLY vote like I did in September!!

    Look nonvoting serfs, keep being inactive and we will keep raising your wages and put a light 2% high earners income tax, hey if you have taxable income of 300k you will pay 2 % state income tax and move your sorry ass to Wyoming or Alaska.

    Read about Reunion or some Indian ocean new democracy they had their first election a few years ago and 81% plus voted!

  8. Bonnie B Fairbank 2022-11-12 16:06

    P. Aitch:

    I did not for a moment think you were mansplaining. I’ve been mansplained once in my life, on March 3, 2021, and I promptly hurt that young man so badly in the presence of his male peers EVERYONE was silent and awkward for several seconds. This is where I’m supposed to say I feel bad, regret it, and other bullsh*t. Ain’t true. I revel in that moment.

  9. grudznick 2022-11-12 19:24

    Counseling will soothe your libbie rage and felonious tendencies and persuasions. I know a guy, and I don’t mean my good friend Bob, near Hot Springs…I’m just sayin…

  10. m 2022-11-13 08:19

    Bonnie, I drove 20 miles to the county auditor to vote so I wouldn’t have to stand in a long line six inches from the coughing MAGAS who don’t care about anyone else’s health or health insurance. Despite the flurries on the way home, I was willing to take any chance weather encounters rather than MAGAS in this area.

    There were some people standing around smoking and visiting in the front and the entrance to the voting site. One pole worker told me there were more observers than usual and definitely more voters than usual for a nonpresidential election.

    Many around here conclude that the threat of cutting Social Security and Medicare and raising the age to 70 put the fear into those who plan on claiming SS when they turn 62. We do this plus continue to work just to survive Grudz.

    People were listening and Democrats need to keep hitting this nail into the wall.

    REPUBLICANS WANT TO TAKE YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE.

  11. Bonnie B Fairbank 2022-11-13 16:02

    m:

    Thank you for your actions, observations and conclusions. One of my unstated reasons for NOT voting at the Mueller Civic Center on ‘lection day was a stern warning from a neighbor who works at the FRC courthouse and knows I’ve Biden/Harris 2020 stickers on my truck. She told me to STAY AWAY from potential a******s; she’s a staunch Republican herself, so her advice was doubly welcome.

    I’m not sure how to interpret Grudz’s post, if it even applies to me. I commited a misdemeanor once. I was mansplained by a large, young, healthy man on March 3, 2021, how I was supposed to carry an ash bucket with 30# of wood ashes and 40# of water to a different dump site; he never noticed I had a splint on my left wrist and my left arm in a sling. I called him a perfect f*ckin’ idiot; all the dudes got quiet and then left.

    I always enjoy reading about Grudz’s imaginary BFF Lar and Bob and, as Leslie pointed out, the nonexistant Conservatives for Common Sense.

Comments are closed.