Absentee voting in Moody County is seeing strong early participation in the General Election, with 143 ballots already sent out or returned, according to County Auditor Tawny Heinemann.
“We’ve had a really good turnout … I’m expecting a much higher turnout than the Primary earlier this year,” Heinemann said.
Moody County is among the 23 states, including Minnesota and South Dakota, where voters can submit absentee ballots in person at election offices or designated locations, rather than by mail. However, voters must be registered before casting a ballot, and a photo ID is required. The registration deadline is October 21 at 5 p.m.
Voters also have until November 4 at 5 p.m. to cast absentee ballots in person or request them by mail. Heinemann urged voters opting for mail to request ballots early.
“That’s also the deadline to request your absentee ballot, but if someone is wanting to vote absentee by mail, I’d recommend they keep mailing times in mind so it gets back to us before polls close on November 5,” she said.
Heinemann emphasized the importance of reviewing the ballot ahead of time. “There is a lot on the ballot this election, so I recommend people either go online and look at the sample ballot (https://vip.sdsos.gov/) or pick up a sample ballot and the ballot measures handout at the courthouse.”
Nationally, more than 1.4 million voters have already cast ballots in this year’s presidential election, as candidates like Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, along with Senate and House hopefuls, and advocacy groups, ramp up efforts to reach voters during this final campaign stretch.
A post-election audit is scheduled to ensure accuracy, with at least one precinct’s results to be recounted by hand. Two races or measures from the ballot, selected at random, will be part of the recount, Heinemann said. At least one of these audited races must be statewide, meaning it appeared on all ballots across South Dakota.
