Early voting starts Friday

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Voting is a key way people can make their voices heard and as South Dakota nears its general election date, voters should make sure they are prepared.

With early voting starting Friday, voters can start lining up at 8 a.m. to cast their ballots. The 2022 general election is Nov. 8. Whether you vote early or on election day, you should be informed about the issues on the ballot.

Along with voting for state legislators, expanding Medicaid and legalizing recreational marijuana are on the ballot.

“There is a little ownness in the voter again I think to do, you know, the research on the candidates, look at the candidate’s website to view their sample ballot and their polling locations so they know who’s on their ballot and what they stand for,” said Steve Barnett, the South Dakota Secretary of State.

The last day to register to vote is Oct. 24. People needing to register can find the form online and then bring it filled out to their county auditor’s office.

“I would recommend that you know if people aren’t sure where they need to go on election day if they’re not going to take advantage of absentee voting. They go to the secretary state’s voter information portals so the VIP portal and they can look themselves up make sure they registered, it will tell them their polling place and they can at the sample ballot on there,” said Cindy Mohler, the auditor for Pennington County.

The auditor’s office is open Monday through Friday until 5 p.m. for any questions or to help voters with their absentee ballots.

“Making a mistake on the ballot; if they do make a mistake on the ballot, they can take it back up to the window and just ask for another ballot. We’ll spoil that ballot, and they can try again,” said Mohler.

To make the voting process as smooth as possible voters should make sure to bring proper ID to their polling place. For a list of acceptable ID forms head to South Dakota Secretary of State website.

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