New Elm Springs Colony is a Republican stronghold. About 15% of voters here vote Democratic and 85% Republican.
About 81% of adults in New Elm Springs Colony typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in New Elm Springs Colony, ~12% vote Democratic, ~68% Republican, and ~20% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How New Elm Springs Colony compares
Among cities within 25 miles, New Elm Springs Colony leans more Republican than 15 of 24 neighbors.
New Elm Springs Colony runs about 40 points more Republican than South Dakota as a whole.
Why New Elm Springs Colony 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 New Elm Springs Colony, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural areas with a high white share vote Republican. New Elm Springs Colony sits in the bottom quarter on density and about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 14 points above the South Dakota average of 81%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 75% of households in New Elm Springs Colony are family households, above 76% of cities.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with strong routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a higher rate; New Elm Springs Colony, 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 New Elm Springs Colony looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. New Elm Springs Colony 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 98% of adults in New Elm Springs Colony have completed high school, above 94% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Milltown, SD R+69
- Rockport Colony, SD R+72
- Emery, SD R+69
- Dimock, SD R+71
- Alexandria, SD R+71
- Ethan, SD R+66
- Tschetter Colony, SD R+67
- Parkston, SD R+66
- Bridgewater, SD R+57
Cities with Similar Populations
- Stella, VA R+53
- Stendal, IN R+57
- Deerwalk, WV R+62
- Bartley, NE R+71
- Tea, MO R+63
- Barren Plain, TN R+69
- Westbury, MN R+41
- Bicknell, UT R+59
- Magnolia, MO R+62
- Wilcox, NE R+65
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.