One of South Dakota’s state leaders says he won’t run for re-election after his term ends next fall. Secretary of State Jason Gant released a statement on his Facebook page Wednesday morning. He says he wants people to know his plan for the rest of his term and beyond.
"Well, there’s always politics involved, but when I campaigned for this office back in 2010, I laid out specific goals that I wanted to accomplish, and I’ve accomplished those," Gant says. "And we’ve come up with new goals, and we’ve started accomplishing them. And I’m just really excited for the next year and a half to finish out my term and keep improving my office for the people of the state."
Gant says his office implemented voting centers to allow people to vote anywhere, and he points to corporate online filing opportunities to save money.
The Secretary of State notes this announcement isn’t a resignation. He says he anticipates more advancements while he’s in public service.
"One of the things that we’re working really hard on right now is getting an election app for your phone or tablet. I want people to be able to see election results on their phone in a really easy-to-use fashion. I want people to be able to use Google Maps or Bing Maps or one of those places to find your polling place from your exact location," Gant says.
Gant says he also wants to improve the way military members cast their ballots.
South Dakota voters elected Gant as Secretary of State in November of 2010. View Gant's Facebook page announcement at this link.