Mellette is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 64% of adults in Mellette typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Mellette, ~13% vote Democratic, ~50% Republican, and ~37% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Mellette compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Mellette leans more Republican than 9 of 19 neighbors.
Mellette runs about 28 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Why Mellette 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 Mellette, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. Mellette sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 97% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 16 points above the South Dakota average of 81%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 77% of households in Mellette are family households, above 83% of cities.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Mellette, SD sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Mellette looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Mellette 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 70%, about 10 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 97% of adults in Mellette have completed high school, above 92% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Northville, SD R+60
- Brentford, SD R+51
- Mansfield, SD R+57
- Ashton, SD R+55
- Athol, SD R+58
- Warner, SD R+55
- Stratford, SD R+61
- Conde, SD R+51
- Turton, SD R+51
- Redfield, SD R+45
Cities with Similar Populations
- Panic, PA R+68
- Sherry, TX R+42
- Teasleys Mill, AL R+12
- Talbott, IL R+55
- Gerster, MO R+66
- Mount Tabor, AR R+50
- Pineola, NC R+39
- Miles, WA R+29
- Kaktovik, AK D+14
- St. Joseph, KY R+64
All Local Stats
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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.