Rejected ballots test 30-day residency requirement

Legislators anticipate revisiting 2023 statute

Dozens of absentee ballots cast in Minnehaha County were not counted in Tuesday’s primary vote, shining a spotlight on a year-old law aimed at keeping nomadic Americans from participating in South Dakota elections.

Election precinct boards in Minnehaha County were split this week on whether absentee ballots associated with mail forwarding services should have been counted during South Dakota’s primary election, and lawmakers are equally perplexed on how to ensure South Dakotans get to vote while ensuring election integrity.

NEWS: Primary voters punish pipeline supporters in wave of defeats