South Dakota voters decide federal, state and legislative races Tuesday

No results released until final polls close at 9 p.m. ET

South Dakota voters will elect leaders for federal, state and other offices on Tuesday. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, because the state spans the Central and Mountain time zones, according to the Associated Press.

State law requires that no results be released until the final polls close at 9 p.m. ET. In the 2024 general election, the first results were reported starting at 9 p.m. ET as final polls closed, and the state reached 50% of votes reporting at 1:45 a.m. ET on Nov. 6 and 90% of votes reporting at 10:05 a.m. ET.

The AP will provide vote results and declare winners in races for U.S. Senate, governor, U.S. House, secretary of state, statewide ballot measures, state Senate, state House, state auditor, Lands Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission and state treasurer.

About 348,000 votes were cast in South Dakota’s 2022 race for U.S. Senate, according to the AP’s Decision Team, which published the preview of the state’s returns.

About 29% of all ballots cast in the 2022 Senate election were cast early or by absentee ballot, the AP reported. The AP’s advance vote tracker carries the latest advance vote totals for South Dakota.

Counties vary in when and how they release vote results, but most release a mix of results from all vote types throughout the night, according to the AP.

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap.

If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

Recounts in South Dakota are automatic only in cases of tie votes. Losing candidates for statewide office may request a recount if the vote margin is 0.25% or less of the total votes cast. Candidates for state legislative and local offices have a higher threshold, at 2% or less of the total votes cast.

The AP may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.