10 new election precincts added in Minnehaha County

Minnehaha County will soon have new election precincts, going from 75 to 81 precincts.

The change comes after months of review by the Minnehaha County Auditor’s Office, which presented the plan to the Minnehaha County Commission on Tuesday morning. The commission passed the changes to the boundaries unanimously.

“Our goal with these proposed changes was to reduce the number of precincts with their multiple legislative districts to a minimal number and to balance the population of each precinct to a more manageable number,” said Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson.

Anderson provided the commission with descriptions and maps of each precinct location.

The smallest precinct has 600 voters, while the largest, located in Brandon, has over 2,500 voters. Overall, 10 precincts were added while four precincts were taken away.

Additionally, two locations within Sioux Falls will become their own precincts. Dakota Post and Your Best Address, both mail forwarding addresses, have 4,700 registered voters and 1,200 registered voters, respectively, at each location.

Anderson said that the locations would have the same polling place but that by having a separate precinct it helped to draw down the size.

The mail forwarding addresses have allowed voters to register in South Dakota and vote here but live out of state. It’s a practice that has been controversial for a number of years and there have been a number of attempts to tighten the voter registration laws.

On Tuesday, Anderson said she was hoping the legislature, scheduled to convene at the start of January for the 99th Legislative Session, would find a solution to the issue.

“We're expecting and hoping for legislation that would directly impact those voters, and that would be maybe creating a federal only ballot,” she said.

How will I know my precinct has changed?

Anderson said her office would be providing more information to voters about if their precinct location has changed in the next few months ahead of the April election in Sioux Falls for city councilors. She added that she would be asking candidates to let voters in their districts know about the upcoming precinct changes as well.

Voters can also access information about their voting location on the Secretary of State Office’s voter information portal.

Is there going to be a need for more poll workers?

Yes.

Anderson told commissioners Tuesday that she was hoping to find more poll workers for the upcoming elections by utilizing the political parties in Minnehaha County. She’d already received a number of interested applicants from the Republican Party.

She’s also hoping to install a number of greeters at each polling location to make sure people are aware of if they’re in the right precinct and the right polling location.

If you’re interested in working at a polling location, reach out to the Minnehaha County Auditor’s Office.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: New election precinct boundaries in Minnehaha County