PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The federal government will pay for the South Dakota Secretary of State office to mail absentee-ballot applications to nearly all of the state’s registered voters for the June 2 statewide primary elections.
The cost of printing and processing for the mailing will be around $55,000, according to Jason Lutz. He is deputy to Secretary of State Steve Barnett.
The cost for outgoing postage will be roughly $225,000, Lutz said, and return postage cost will be determined by the number of applications returned.
This will be the first time South Dakota sends absentee-ballot applications to most registered voters. Elections officials throughout the nation have become uncertain in recent months about voter participation at polling places this year, because of the potential that COVID-19 would be spread.
“These costs will be paid for with federal money appropriated for the administration of federal elections,” Lutz said. “The CARES Act recently passed by Congress and signed by the president includes election funding with the specific purpose to ‘prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus’ for the 2020 federal election cycle.”
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