By Those looking to cast early ballots in the June 2 primary election will have to wait a little longer.
While absentee and early voting is scheduled to begin Friday, April 17, that won’t happen, Brown County Auditor Lynn Heupel told commissioners during their Tuesday, April 14 meeting. The South Dakota Secretary of State’s office is still working through petition challenges, which has delayed the completion of local ballots, she said.
Heupel said information about when absentee voting will begin in Brown County will be released after all petition challenges have been resolved in Pierre.
MORE: Calendar quirk, law change have SD election officials worried about deadlines
A quirk of the calendar is the reason for the delay. Candidates affiliated with political parties have until the final Tuesday of March to file nominating petitions. But that fell on March 31 this year because the month happened to have five Tuesdays.
The situation pushed the filing deadline precariously close to the beginning of absentee voting, which, under state law, is to begin 46 days before an election.
Some South Dakota auditors previously raised concerns about the tight window.
Once ballots are finalized and proofed, they have to be printed before voting can begin. Fortunately, there will still be plenty of time before the primary.
The deadline to register to vote for the June primary is May 18. To learn more about how to register to vote and what documentation is needed, visit shorturl.at/k7CQm.
