SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – It was an unusually busy primary election for most South Dakota auditors Tuesday as they wrestled with a new law that added numerous local races to the statewide political contests.
As of May 26, 34,517 ballots had been cast in early voting, according to the Secretary of State. That includes absentee ballots, walk-in voting, and military personnel and South Dakota residents living overseas.
Because of the new law, several elections that were open to all voters took place the same day as closed Republican primaries for offices like governor.
That includes the race for mayor of the state's largest city, Sioux Falls, which is seeing five challengers for the role in a heavily contested race. Candidates Joe Batcheller, Christine Erickson, Greg Jamison, Jamie Smith and David Zokaites will hope to win over voters after Mayor Paul TenHaken's eight-year tenure with the city ends.
Notably, Zokaites sued the City of Sioux Falls on Monday, alleging civil rights violations. A judge tossed out the lawsuit Tuesday, saying it had no basis for federal jurisdiction.
Michael Haugen, of Sioux Falls, said that while he believes it is his “civic duty” to vote, this election was particularly important due to the high number of open offices.
“There’s a lot of things on the ballot, both from a state perspective and local perspective,” said Haugen, 67, adding that he let his own experiences guide his voting and didn’t vote for candidates in certain races if he didn't think he knew enough to cast a vote.
“Quite frankly, if I didn’t know a candidate or if there was a spot that I didn’t feel comfortable putting (a candidate down), I didn’t fill the square. If you know your candidates – and I went to several forums with the people and listened to what they had to say – I was pretty comfortable with how I voted and why I voted the way I did,” Haugen said.
Alexander Rifaat
Across the state, Democrat Ron Fisher, of Rapid City, was determined to vote on Tuesday, even if he had to take public transit to the downtown library to do so and even if he could only vote in one City Council precinct.
A retiree who uses a walker, Fisher, 78, said he felt it was important to exercise his right to vote. But he was disappointed in the state’s closed primary rules that cut him off from voting in the GOP primary for statewide offices.
“That’s a bunch of hooey,” said Fisher, an Army veteran. “I should be able to have a say in who makes it through the primary.”
Fisher also expressed great disappointment in how Rapid City, the state and the federal government are being run. He said he reflexively voted against the incumbent in the City Council race in hopes that a new candidate could get a chance to govern.
“It’s just pathetic how this state and Washington are being run,” he said. “I can’t believe that people are starving to death and paying exorbitant prices for gas, yet they are still supporting the current administration."
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Fisher said he will vote for Democrats in the general election in November, including Dan Ahlers for governor.
Lack of resources on the candidates
Ayden Gage, a 21-year-old from Sioux Falls, told News Watch outside of All Souls Church that she felt there “weren’t a lot of resources out there” to find information about candidates for local and county offices in Sioux Falls and Minnehaha County.
She said that she had to do quite a bit of individual research to determine each candidates’ platforms on the issues, which included visiting individual campaign websites and social media pages.
Lloyd McKibban, 57, stepped out of the voting booths around noon at Harvey Dunn Elementary School in Sioux Falls.
He had similar feelings to Gage about the quantity of votes he needed to cast. McKibban told News Watch that an “overwhelming number of candidates, and not really an explanation of what they stand for and what they’re about” made the process complex, but that he felt he had made informed decisions.
Reporters Bart Pfankuch and Alexander Rifaat contributed to this story. Molly Wetsch is a Report for America corps member who writes about rural and Native American issues for South Dakota News Watch. Contact Molly: 605-531-7382/molly.wetsch@sdnewswatch.org.
