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October 29, 2024

Minnehaha County residents take advantage of early voting

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — We are now one week away from the 2024 Presidential election. A lot of people are voting early… including at the Minnehaha County Administration building where there was a steady stream of voters Tuesday.

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At times it is tough to find a parking spot at the Minnehaha County Courthouse. Some drivers circled the lot until they found an opening. Inside, on the third floor, early voters like Denise Brehmer lined up. She tells us she has voted early before and likes to avoid the possibility of long lines on election day.

“Because then it’s done, I know that I’ve voted, I don’t have to worry about doing it in the day, just makes things easier,” said Brehmer. Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson is directing voters in the right direction, says early absentee voting has been steady. Registered voters can just show up and vote.

“We do offer the in-person absentee voting, mornings tend to be better than afternoons, but now that we’ve said that mornings are going to get busy too, but the lines have gotten pretty long,” said Anderson.

Anderson tells us the wait varies from 40 minutes at the peak to less than 10 minutes at times.

They have three stations taking care of the early voters.

For people voting on election day, Anderson says the most important thing is for people to know where they are voting and what their precinct number is.

“They can go on the Secretary of State’s website to the voter information portal and look at that information and also see their sample ballot. So be informed, educate yourself and make sure you know where you are going,” said Anderson.