Over 300 voters at first day of absentee voting

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – If you aren't sure if you can make it to the polls on election day, South Dakota has options.

"So in our state, we don't necessarily call it early voting. It's absentee voting, either absentee in person or absentee by mail. So what we have here at our county building is absentee, in-person voting," said Leah Anderson, Minnehaha County Auditor.

The Minnehaha County Auditors Office has been busy with both.

"Friday, the first day of absentee voting, we were quite steady all day. I think we had over 300 people vote in person that day. We also sent out about 4,000 absentee ballots that day," said Anderson.

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So far, everything is going smoothly.

"Good experience. Just, I travel a lot. So, it's really nice to be able to have the time that fits into my schedule to be able to vote," said Alan Scott, one absentee voter.

Alan Scott says the process was easy: all he had to do was present his driver's license, and he got a ballot.

"The ballot goes into an envelope . We don't open or count those ballots until Election Day. And then if a person wants to request a ballot by mail, they would need to fill out an application form and return that to our office, either by mail or in person," said Anderson.

Absentee voting takes place Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Minnehaha County Building.

To view a sample ballot or find more information on the election, click here.