The Argus Leader is pointing out today that a lot of people are registering to vote… and a lot of them are happy to be Republicans, as registration numbers are soaring:
Between June and August, Republican voter registration went up nearly 4,000 people, a little more than a 1% increase, according to data from the SD Secretary of State website. Democrat voter registration has remained stagnant for the same period in comparison.
and..
At a more localized level, Ben Kyte, the Minnehaha County auditor, said it’s pretty normal to see voter registration numbers trending upward before a general election, whether it be a governor’s race or presidential race.
“It depends a lot on the organization of the party, and some of it has to do with the interest in the election,” he said. “In this case, we have the governor’s election that’s drawing interest from voters that might be inclined to vote Republican.”
I filled out a contact form on the State GOP’s website some months ago…still awaiting a contact from someone.
Would this be the case if primaries were open to everyone? Or are we seeing people register republican just to have some sort of say in a heavily red state? Party registration really doesnt matter outside primaries. I also wonder what the gender disparity is and if there are going to be lots of women showing up to the polls or if it is related to the Marijuana vote. I doubt party organization has as much to do with it so I’m just wondering what potential reasons there could be that could be actually backed up.