SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — It looks like Tuesday will be a long night for election workers in South Dakota.
With absentee voting at record highs during the coronavirus pandemic, vote counters will need more time than usual to sort through ballots.
“There’s so many absentee ballots, and they came in sporadically, and they’re all out of order,” Minnehaha County Auditor Bob Litz said. “We knew it was going to take a long time.”
The ballot includes a number of races, including state primary elections and the race for Minnehaha County State’s Attorney. In Sioux Falls, voters will decide on two city council seats and a school board seat, an election that was postponed due to the pandemic.
Litz said in-person voter turnout is “lighter” compared to recent years, likely due to voters’ concerns about COVID-19. That does little to lighten the load for election workers because absentee ballots take more time to verify.
About 180 people are working to count votes Tuesday, according to Litz.
Asked when voters could expect to hear results Litz said, “about the time when we get the last ballot counted.”
READ MORE: KELO’s election night coverage plans
(KELO.com News Director Todd Epp contributed to this report.)
