BELLE FOURCHE—One always hears how every vote counts, and in the Belle Fourche City Council Special Election, that proved true in the most literal way possible when the outcome for Ward 2 was decided by just two votes.
Voters went to the polls on April 7 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Community Hall to fill three vacant seats on the City Council, one each from Ward 1, Ward 2, and Ward 3.
The last election for City Council was held one year ago on April 8, 2025, and it suffered from low voter turnout. Only around 11 percent of registered voters turned out to cast a ballot, so focusing on getting citizens to the polls was a priority for this election’s candidates.
Ward 2 had four candidates running for one open seat on the City Council. They were Faith Melanson, Aydalou Cazer, Falina Selchert, and Gene Pesicka. The winner to represent Ward 2 is Geno Pesicka. He received 84 votes. Selchert received 82 votes, Cazer received 42 votes, and Melanson got 28 votes. Ward 2 had 236 total votes cast in the special election.
For Ward 2 the voting was pretty strong all throughout the day. “It’s been steady, not busy, but steady—so the voting is good,” said Stacey Raisanen, poll worker. “We are at about 20 percent voter turnout in Ward 2 so far.”
Ward 1 had two candidates running for one open seat, John Fyffe and Wilma “Faith” Goehring. Fyffe is the new council member, receiving 79 votes. Goehring received 25 votes. A total of 104 votes were cast in Ward 1, making voter turnout in Ward 1 around a dismal 10 percent.
Voters just trickled in to the polling place for Ward 1. “Ward 1 isn’t seeing the same numbers of voters turn out to vote,” shared poll worker Anita Bierschenk. “We are only at 80 votes cast for the whole day, and we have 995 registered voters.”
Poll worker Beth Morey added, “Ward 2 always does better with turnout—our ward has always been terrible, and it’s about the same size.”
The poll workers have to stay in the polling area all day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. “We are not discouraged that we have to sit here; we are discouraged because people aren’t interested,” said Bierschenk.
Ward 3 only had one candidate running for the open seat. Vern Hintz will be representing Ward 3 on the City Council.
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