Ashton is a Republican stronghold. About 22% of voters here vote Democratic and 78% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Ashton typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ashton, ~14% vote Democratic, ~49% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Ashton compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Ashton leans more Republican than 8 of 18 neighbors.
Ashton runs about 26 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Why Ashton leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Ashton, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Ashton sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 98% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 17 points above the South Dakota average of 81%.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Ashton, SD sits in the bottom quarter nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Ashton looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Ashton is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 69%, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Ashton have completed high school, above 90% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Athol, SD R+58
- Redfield, SD R+45
- Mellette, SD R+57
- Frankfort, SD R+53
- Brentford, SD R+51
- Northville, SD R+60
- Zell, SD R+61
- Glendale Colony, SD R+54
- Turton, SD R+51
- Mansfield, SD R+57
Cities with Similar Populations
- Josephine, AL R+75
- Peach Orchard, FL R+4
- Vivian, SD R+66
- Hutchinson, NJ R+43
- Mesic, NC R+38
- Caulksville, AR R+54
- Decatur, IA R+47
- Enchanted Hills, IN R+55
- Idamay, KY R+69
- Gove City, KS R+82
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from South Dakota Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.