Shannon County will get 6 full weeks to vote early

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RAPID CITY (AP) — Voters in Shannon County will have a full six weeks of early voting in Pine Ridge beginning Friday, thanks largely to a federal voting rights lawsuit filed by residents of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

The lawsuit prompted South Dakota Secretary of State Jason Gant and other officials to provide funding for a full 46 days of early voting at a satellite polling place in Pine Ridge, the same period of early voting allowed elsewhere in South Dakota before the June 5 primary. The original plan in Shannon County was for only six days of early voting.

“We came to an agreement to find the extra money to fund one absentee voting center in Pine Ridge,” Gant said. “I’m very happy that I was able to assist them in assuring that they have those 46 days there.”

The satellite polling place is necessary because Shannon County, included in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, does not have its own courthouse. Shannon County has a contract with nearby Fall River County to provide election services.

Tags: election 2012, early voting, shannon county, pine ridge, news, updates