Election Websites: South Dakota

Fact Sheet Read time:
Projects: Election Initiatives & Government Performance Project
Election Websites: South Dakota

Return to report home page.

Researchers assessed state election websites for the Pew Center on the States between May-November 2010, using detailed criteria evaluating the content, lookup tools, and usability. Websites may have changed since they were assessed. See methodology (PDF). 

Strengths include:

  • Multipurpose lookup tool, called the “Voter Information Portal,” that allows voters to check their registration and absentee ballot status, access a sample ballot, find their polling place, and obtain information about their county election officials.
  • Precinct-level election returns provided in HTML. On other states' websites, this information is typically available only in Excel or PDF, if at all.
  • Strong site privacy protections, including a secure server and a clearly explained privacy policy.
  • Simple, easy-to-read website.

Recommended improvements include:

  • Provide information about the circumstances under which voters need to update their registration (42 states offer).
  • Offer registration information for college students (36 states offer), hospitalized voters (27 offer), and those living in long-term-care facilities (25 offer).
  • Provide a toll-free number for the state election office (40 states offer) or a designated help/hotline (30 offer).
  • Offer the name of a state election officer who can assist voters (43 states offer).
  • Provide e-mail addresses for local election officials (42 states offer).
  • List links to local election officials' websites (34 states offer).
  • Provide a lookup tool for voters to check their provisional ballot status (19 states offer).
  • Ensure that the website search function works properly.

Noteworthy Feature: South Dakota's website includes current, comprehensive municipal and school election calendars, which most other states do not publish online.

Initial Quick Fix: Improve the usability and help voters locate some of the more obscure resources on the site by making sure its search engine provides relevant results.

Summary: South Dakota's website offers four out of five recommended lookup tools, scoring strongly in that category, but has lower scores for website content and usability.

www.sdsos.gov was assessed for content and lookup tools.

www.sdsos.gov/electionsvoteregistration/electionsvoteregistration_overview.shtm was assessed for usability.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
RELATED
Tags
Election administration
Projects
Election Initiatives Government Performance Project
Places
South Dakota

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

An adult and a child huddle in front of a laptop computer, their faces lit by the screen, with a room and bright windows behind them.

Article

November 27, 2023 Researchers Share How State Grants Boost Broadband Access
A group of teenagers gather in a park with bikes, their silhouettes in high contrast to the cloudy sky behind them.

Article

November 2, 2023 Insights on Brain Development Can Improve Youth Justice
Five video cameras on tripods stand in a line, with one reporter holding a camera slightly out of focus, all aimed at the same subject.

Article

October 6, 2023 Data-Based Journalism Needed to Advance Youth Justice

MORE FROM PEW

About a dozen people stand examining large blue bins full of whole fish in a warehouse. Some people are in green clothes, others in blue, and all wear ballcaps. A few hold clipboards. Reducing Risk Strengthens the Seafood Supply Chain
A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed. Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands. In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World
A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.