Most of the public has grown weary of this drawn out and increasingly nasty political season but, even from this particularly unsavory season, comes good news.

Voter registration numbers are up, across the board.

In Pennington County, there have been more than 1,400 people newly registered as Democrats; Republican numbers have increased slightly; and, Independent registrations have taken the biggest jump with about 7,000 newly registered Independent voters since 2006 in South Dakota. Constitution and Libertarian party registrations have experienced little change in the past two years.

Frankly, it doesn't matter what party sees the highest percentage of new voter registrations. Democrat registrations, Republican or Independent, they all serve the same purpose - increase public participation in the democratic process.

The growing registration numbers are healthy for the state regardless of party affiliation. The folks who take the time to register and vote, also take the time to pay attention. They become part owners in the process and expect results largely because they've invested their time to participate.

What does that mean for South Dakota? It means more focus on the issues but not likely a statewide shift in the political atmosphere. Republican registrations still show a fairly healthy lead over Democrats - 240,603 to 203,039.

Independent voters, however, could provide some impetus for a changing landscape in South Dakota's conservative politics. Independent registrations have jumped 7,000 from two years ago to a total statewide registration of 81,122.

Is that a force to be reckoned with? Possibly. Regardless, it is a force to be recognized and it will increasingly play a role in decision-making.

Independents hardly have a majority of the voters, but their inclusion in the process should bring far left and far right candidates to a point where they need to consider the middle or risk losing a solid voting block tired of divisive comments and partisanship.

In the end, the political landscape of South Dakota will adjust to the ebb and flow of the new registrations in South Dakota and the political process will continue to serve the vast majority of the state's residents. Those residents are better served as they choose to participate; and, that's what we're seeing now, and glad for it.