Primary Ballots Arrive, Absentee Voting Begins
By:
Holli Seehafer, Grant County Review
Primary Ballots Arrive, Absentee Voting Begins
Absentee voting for the primary election was scheduled to become available for registered voters in South Dakota on Friday, April 17, but a series of state-level challenges to candidate petitions, slowed the process and delayed the printing of the ballots.
The official ballots, delayed though they were, finally arrived at the Grant County and Roberts County auditors’ offices in time for absentee voting to begin on Monday, April 27. The staff at the auditors’ offices were able to allow in-person voting and were able to start mailing out the ballots properly requested by registered voters.
In-person absentee voting can be done at the county courthouse where the voter is registered Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Monday, June 1, at 5 p.m. Holidays are excluded. Those choosing to vote absentee, but in-person must present photo identification, such as a driver’s license or ID card.
Alternately, the state’s registered voters can request that a primary ballot be mailed to them. To request a ballot mailed out, residents need to either call their local county auditor’s office or download the form requesting a ballot at https://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/voting/absentee-voting.aspx
After the voter returns the completed form with proof of identification, the staff at the auditor’s office will mail the ballot out. To successfully absentee vote by mail, the completed ballots must reach the auditor’s office before 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1. Officials recommend mailing the completed ballot at least two weeks before the deadline because of the possibliilty of delays in the postal system.
In Grant County, there will be no Democrat primary ballot. There will be a Republican primary ballot, including one county-level race for sheriff.
Similarly, Democrats in Roberts County will not have a primary ballot, but Republicans will.
In both counties, registered Republicans will have options at the state and national level.
The winners from the Republican primary will advance to the general election, where they will face Democrats who were not challenged at the primary level. Additionally, Independent candidates were able to file for races until the Tuesday, April 28, deadline.
Updated election information is available at http://sdsos.gov/elections-voting/upcoming-elections/general-information....
