Union County, South Dakota
Precinct data
Results by precinct
29 precincts · 8,876 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
| Precinct -1212 | 349 | 933 | 20 | 1,302 | 26.8% | 71.7% | R+44.9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precinct -0303 | 356 | 835 | 22 | 1,213 | 29.3% | 68.8% | R+39.5 |
| Precinct -1111 | 219 | 675 | 19 | 913 | 24.0% | 73.9% | R+49.9 |
| Precinct -0606 | 210 | 638 | 21 | 869 | 24.2% | 73.4% | R+49.3 |
| Precinct -0909 | 272 | 567 | 19 | 858 | 31.7% | 66.1% | R+34.4 |
| Precinct -1010 | 252 | 473 | 21 | 746 | 33.8% | 63.4% | R+29.6 |
| Precinct -0505 | 239 | 464 | 14 | 717 | 33.3% | 64.7% | R+31.4 |
| Precinct -0404 | 154 | 395 | 12 | 561 | 27.5% | 70.4% | R+43.0 |
| Precinct -0808 | 134 | 335 | 7 | 476 | 28.2% | 70.4% | R+42.2 |
| Precinct -0101 | 98 | 354 | 4 | 456 | 21.5% | 77.6% | R+56.1 |
| Precinct -0202 | 145 | 257 | 3 | 405 | 35.8% | 63.5% | R+27.7 |
| Precinct -0707 | 120 | 234 | 6 | 360 | 33.3% | 65.0% | R+31.7 |
| VTD - Alcester ward 2 (part of precinct 2)A2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD - Alcester ward 3 (part of precinct 2)A3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD - Beresford ward 1 (part of precinct 5)B1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD - Beresford ward 2 (part of precinct 6)B2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD - Beresford ward 3 (part of precinct 6)B3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD - Dakota Dunes13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct 1111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct 1212 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD precinct 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-Alcester ward 1 (part of precinct 2)A1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 1010 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 77 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 88 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
| VTD-precinct 99 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | Even |
Presidential margin, 1892–2024
Democratic minus Republican, by election
| Year | Margin (D minus R) |
|---|---|
| 1892 | −31.2% |
| 1896 | +6.9% |
| 1900 | −7.2% |
| 1904 | −40.8% |
| 1908 | −15.6% |
| 1912 | +39.1% |
| 1916 | +8.3% |
| 1920 | −37.5% |
| 1924 | −21.3% |
| 1928 | −6.8% |
| 1932 | +43.4% |
| 1936 | +29.0% |
| 1940 | −8.9% |
| 1944 | −9.7% |
| 1948 | +0.7% |
| 1952 | −34.7% |
| 1956 | −5.9% |
| 1960 | −7.1% |
| 1964 | +24.2% |
| 1968 | −4.4% |
| 1972 | +5.8% |
| 1976 | +5.0% |
| 1980 | −19.0% |
| 1984 | −4.5% |
| 1988 | +15.5% |
| 1992 | +8.4% |
| 1996 | +2.8% |
| 2000 | −15.7% |
| 2004 | −14.0% |
| 2008 | −13.8% |
| 2012 | −25.2% |
| 2016 | −38.8% |
| 2020 | −36.4% |
| 2024 | −40.7% |
U.S. Senate
| Year | Won | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | R | 22.3%1,497 | 74.3%4,991 | 6,717 |
| 2020 | R | 27.4%2,407 | 72.6%6,364 | 8,771 |
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Registration leans Republican; the presidential vote runs 3.4 points more Democratic.
12,583 registered voters · 2026
Who moves in and out
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
−115 net domestic migration · 2025
Net +904 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $73,585 in average income, against $179,981 for residents who stayed — 59% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+20.0 on average — 21 points more Democratic-leaning than Union County, SD itself (R+40.7).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
- Woodbury County, IA177R+22.9
- Minnehaha County, SD42R+12.7
- Lincoln County, SD41R+26.5
- Clay County, SD27D+6.5
- Dakota County, NE26R+29.7
Where departures went households, 2022–23
- Woodbury County, IA134
- Lincoln County, SD71
- Minnehaha County, SD62
- Clay County, SD31
- Washington County, AR30
- Benton County, AR20
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
| Year | Net domestic migration |
|---|---|
| 2011 | +96 |
| 2012 | +101 |
| 2013 | −73 |
| 2014 | +200 |
| 2015 | −124 |
| 2016 | +61 |
| 2017 | −12 |
| 2018 | +230 |
| 2019 | +277 |
| 2021 | −11 |
| 2022 | +149 |
| 2023 | +21 |
| 2024 | +104 |
| 2025 | −115 |
Union County sits at South Dakota's southeastern tip where the Big Sioux meets the Missouri, with Elk Point as its seat. Despite proximity to Sioux City's metro influence, it has returned Republican presidential margins above 35 points in recent cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 43.4 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 40.8 points in 1904. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 4.3 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 40.7 points.
A population of 17,081, a 88% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $89,636 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Chisago County and St. Croix County.
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
Browse places by community — income, education, race & ethnicity, language — all community cuts →
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Union County, South Dakota. Akashic. https://akashic.app/county/46127/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.