HOT SPRINGS – Next Tuesday, July 28, voters across the state will go back to the polls for South Dakota’s first runoff election for governor featuring Aberdeen businessman Toby Doeden and Gov. Larry Rhoden because none of the four candidates in the June 2 GOP primary drew 35% of the vote. Only registered Republicans can vote in the contest, which will decide who meets Democrat Dan Ahlers in the Nov. 3 general election.
According to an article written earlier this month by South Dakota News Watch, the runoff election has driven a record number of voters to register as Republican. There are now more registered Republicans in South Dakota than ever before, with about 10,000 joining the party in the past few months and roughly 2,000 of those in the past two weeks, prior to the July 13 deadline to register.
In Fall River County, Auditor Sue Ganje announced recently that early voting is available in the court house until Monday, July 27, and that county election workers will be doing hand counting for this run-off election on July 28. “The hand count will be conducted immediately after the polls close, with ballots and supplies transported back to the office,” she said.
The election polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
While primary voting for all Hot Springs wards (1, 2, 3, 4) plus Jackson Precinct was held at the Hot Springs Schools on June 2, everyone in those areas will now once again return to the Mueller Civic Center for next week’s runoff election on July 28.
The polling place for everyone else in the county is as follows: Beaver Precinct at Oral School; Cascade Precinct at Cascade Fire Hall; Edgemont Area Precinct at St. James Parish; Oelrichs Area Precinct at Oelrichs Community Center.