Absentee voting for South Dakota's general election has begun in some counties and will spread across the state next week.

People appear to know which candidates they prefer and which way they want to vote on the various ballot issues - evidenced by the scant amount of time it's taking them to vote, according to Pennington County Auditor Julie Pearson.

"These people have been waiting to vote. They were ready. They'd made their decisions, and were adamant about their choices," she says. "They're not just coming in and voting for president, but they're voting on the whole ballot."

Although some voters skip the political issues that often are on the South Dakota ballot because they can be difficult to understand, absentee voters generally wade right through them, Pearson says.

By law, absentee voting must begin no later than Tuesday. People can use the absentee process to vote until 3 p.m. on Election Day.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson says people who want to vote early can do so at their county auditor's office or by applying for absentee ballots through the mail. Voters don't need to provide reasons for voting early.

The November ballot includes seven statewide ballot issues, plus races for president, U.S. Senate and U.S. House, the state Public Utilities Commission, and the Legislature.

Anyone not registered to vote or who wants to update a voter registration address has until Oct. 20 to do so. Voter registration can be done at any county auditor's office, city finance office, or driver licensing office.

Nelson says he is not sure early voting will be as heavy this year as it was in the 2006 general election, when 27 percent of the ballots were cast by absentee voters.