Can Democrats change parties and vote in the SD Republican primary?

South Dakota allows voters to change parties and vote in a primary or general election as long as the voter registration form is received by the county auditor 15 days before the election.

That means Democrats, independents and members of other parties could vote in the Republican runoff gubernatorial election July 28 if they change their party affiliation to Republican by the deadline. The winner of the race between Toby Doeden and Larry Rhoden will face Democrat Dan Ahlers in the Nov. 3 general election.

South Dakota is one of about 10 states that are in a partially closed primary system, meaning you must vote in the primary of your party affiliation but can change before the deadline.

The practice of switching parties for primaries is more appealing for Democrats since they typically don’t field enough candidates for primaries in statewide races in South Dakota.