I’m on location at the District in Sioux Falls, with “SDWC Election Central” up and operating.
Polls have now closed in Eastern South Dakota, with another hour and fifteen minutes until results will be released.
An Hour and fifteen minutes, you may ask? From the Secretary of State:
Election Results Cannot Be Released until 8:15pm Central Time
Pierre, SD – Secretary of State Shantel Krebs stated, “Julie Pearson, Pennington County Auditor called the Secretary of State’s office and reported to us that there was a fire incident at one of the polling locations (a school) in Pennington County. Voting was delayed for 15 minutes while voters and election workers went outside.”
The election workers took the ballot box containing all marked ballots along with the Voter Registration list with them as they exited the polling location.
Due to the fifteen minute delay caused by the fire incident the precinct will need to remain open an additional fifteen minutes. Closing at 7:15pm Mountain Time.
Election results will not be able to be displayed on the Secretary of State’s website or released by County Auditors until 8:15 pm Central Time as state law requires. Live results will be displayed at 8:30pm Central Time.
SDCL 12-20-17. Returns not disclosed until all polls in state closed. No public disclosure of the returns of state and federal elections in any primary or general election is permitted until each precinct-polling place in the state is closed. This provision applies to each precinct-polling place within the state.
#30#
So, just hang tight.