Jun. 5—MITCHELL — Closely contested races for Mitchell mayor and the dredging ballot question drove voter turnout in Mitchell and Davison County among the state’s best figures on Tuesday night for the primary election.

A turnout of 45.01% was recorded among city voters, with 4,324 city votes cast among 9,606 registered voters, according to city finance director Michelle Bathke. The 45% figure is tied with the 2012 city election for top turnout, which followed a similar ballot makeup, with a mayoral race, a state primary and a special election regarding one-way streets in the city. It also surpassed the 44% turnout from the 2007 special election for the proposed event center and arena in the city.

The decision to hold the election in June 2024 was made 11 months ago by the Mitchell City Council, which voted 5-3 to hold the election in conjunction with the primary, rather than a potential December 2023 election date. Some council members were concerned that a longer wait would be detrimental to the project and increase the likelihood of it being voted down.

As for the primary vote, turnout in Davison County was calculated at 40.79%, with 4,422 ballots cast out of a potential 10,841 registered voters, again bolstered by the Mitchell election.

Davison County’s primary turnout was second-highest among the 66 counties in South Dakota on Tuesday. Only Harding County’s turnout was higher (40.89%), driven to the polls by Republican House and Senate primaries and a local school board election.

Other counties with turnout percentage figures around 40% included Faulk (40.46%), McPherson (40.46%), Jones (40.21%), Sully (40.16%) and Gregory (39.47%).

Sanborn County had the lowest voter turnout in the state on Tuesday at 4.83%, with only 31 ballots cast out of a potential pool of 641 voters. All voters voted at the 4-H Building in Forestburg, with only the Democratic presidential primary on the ballot.

Hughes County, the home of Pierre and state government, had the second-lowest percentage turnout in the state at 4.93%, with only 303 votes cast out of 6,144 registered voters. Voters in the county were limited on the races they were deciding upon, with the Democratic presidential primary and two Republican precinct committeeman races on the ballot. In the small town of Harrold — population of 99 people — only one vote was cast at the polling site during the 12-hour period the polls were open.