South Dakota, similarly to the rest of the United States, had a large turnout for the 2020 election. Absentee voting in South Dakota was over double what it was in 2016.
In Minnehaha County, over 40,000 absentee ballots had to be counted. Minnehaha County Auditor Bob Litz had absentee ballot counts scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning, after workers had stayed until 1:30 a.m. to process all in-person votes. Of the three ballot-counting machines, two were offline as recently as last Thursday, with one requiring upgrades and one requiring new parts; however, both were brought back on-line prior to the election.
Overall, of the 578,655 registered voters in South Dakota, over 65% voted in the 2020 election. Even before absentee ballots were counted, the SD Secretary of State website reported that 51.888 ballots had been cast in Minnehaha County.
Results:
| Title | Elected Result | Statewide % | County % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide President-Elect: | Joseph Biden/Kamala Harris | 36% | 44% |
| South Dakota Presidential electors: | Donald J Trump/Michael Pence | 62% | 53% |
| United States Senator: | Mike Rounds | 66% | 58% |
| United States Representative: | Dusty Johnson | 81% | 77% |
| Public Utilities Commissioner: | Gary Hanson | 68% | 63% |
| SD Supreme Court Judge Steven Jensen: | Retained | 81% | 79% |
| Constitutional Amendment A (recreational marijuana): | Passed | 59% | 60% |
| Constitutional Amendment B (sports betting in Deadwood): | Passed | 66% | 62% |
| Initiated Measure 26 (medical marijuana): | Passed | 75% | 76% |
| District 25 Senate: | Marsha Symens | 59% | |
| District 25 House: | Tom Pischke Jon Hansen | 33% 33% | |
| Minnehaha County Treasurer: | Kris Swanson | 58% | |
| Minnehaha County Commission: | Jean Bender Gene Karsky | 32% 29% |
Update:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 5, 2020
Sioux Falls, SD – This morning Minnehaha County Auditor Bob Litz announced he has tested positive for COVID-19 following a rapid response test. Auditor’s staff has been notified. Election workers are in the process of being notified.
Ballot counting for the 2020 General Election is substantially complete with the exception of provisional ballots which will be processed today and are not impacted by the test result. Auditor Litz has been in conversation with the SD Secretary of State’s Office regarding the election canvas that will still stake place on Friday afternoon at 1:30pm. The election canvas will proceed as scheduled.
Continuity of Auditor’s office operations will continue with Auditor’s staff working in the office and remotely. Staff who are symptomatic have been advised to seek medical care and advice regarding testing and quarantine procedures if they become symptomatic.
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Update 11/11/20: Results by vote numbers and precinct added.
