election integrity

Brown County Auditor Lynn Heupel explains how the tabulator machine works to count election ballots in November 2022. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Price tag for post-election audits could be larger than lawmaker expectations

BY: - September 29, 2023

The cost to conduct post-election audits in South Dakota could vastly exceed an estimate calculated for lawmakers earlier this year, according to a survey of county auditors. Or it won’t; neither the Secretary of State’s Office nor county auditors are sure. South Dakota’s Board of Elections signed off this week on most of the rules […]

The South Dakota Secretary of State's Office in Pierre. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Post-election audit rules spark debate on voter intent

BY: - September 27, 2023

The perceived daylight between the terms “manual count” and “hand count” proved contentious during discussions of post-election audit rules that inched closer to implementation on Wednesday in Pierre. The rules represent South Dakota’s first foray into post-election audits, which are routinely done in most states. Creating such an audit process was a key campaign issue […]

A voter shows identification to an election judge during primary voting on May 3, 2022, in Lordstown, Ohio. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

Red and blue state divide grows even wider in 2023’s top voting and election laws

BY: - June 24, 2023

Next year’s elections are still 16 months away. But for voters, perhaps the most important developments took place during the first half of this year — when states drafted and passed the legislation that will shape how those contests are run. “The rules that will govern the 2024 election are being written today,” said Megan […]

COMMENTARY
Secretary of State-Elect Monae Johnson celebrates her Nov. 8, 2022, election victory. Behind Johnson (from left) stands her campaign manager, Gretchen Weible, and Weible's husband Rick Weible. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Seeking election integrity behind closed doors

BY: - June 19, 2023

The shouting about the mishandling of the 2020 presidential election has been long-winded and false. However, it has led a number of states, including South Dakota, to make moves designed to increase election integrity. One move was the passage in the last legislative session of Senate Bill 160 which requires county auditors to conduct a […]

A vote-here sign, pictured on Nov. 8, 2022, at the All Souls Church on Cliff Avenue in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Native American advocates criticize new election laws as civil rights group drafts recommendations

BY: - May 2, 2023

South Dakota’s Legislature passed 19 election-related bills over the winter, but Native American voting rights advocates say none of the bills addressed their concerns about voter suppression. Meanwhile, some of those advocates are serving on a federal civil rights committee that’s developing recommendations to improve Native American participation in elections. Republican leaders described bills they […]

An elections worker scans mail-in ballots at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center on Nov. 7, 2022, in Phoenix. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Bipartisan former members of Congress call for boost in funding to secure elections

BY: - March 24, 2023

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of former U.S. lawmakers on the National Council on Election Integrity called on Congress on Friday to spend $400 million on election integrity to insulate the system from foreign interference.  “The Department of Homeland Security designated our election system as critical infrastructure in 2017,” the four wrote in a letter. […]

A voter fills out a ballot on Nov. 8, 2022, at a polling place in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Board of Elections changes voter registration form to comply with tribal lawsuit settlement

BY: - March 15, 2023

The South Dakota Board of Elections voted Wednesday to change the state voter registration form to fit the requirements of a 2022 lawsuit agreement between Native American tribes and the state. The lawsuit alleged numerous violations of the National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to allow people to register to vote while applying for […]

Lobbyists in the halls of the South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Legislative roundup: Taxes and tribes, feedlots and lithium

BY: - January 27, 2023

PIERRE — Things really picked up at the Capitol this week, and deadlines had something to do with that. Lawmakers had free reign to submit as many bills as they pleased until 11 a.m. on Thursday, which meant dozens of bills dropped just before lunch that day. Check the list here. Each lawmaker can file […]

The South Dakota Capitol building in Pierre. (Seth Tupper/SD Searchlight)

Ex-candidate’s case helps spur election law proposal from attorney general

BY: - January 19, 2023

A nine-year-old case against a former U.S. Senate candidate paved the way for a legislative proposal that would make it a felony to lie about petition circulation. A jury convicted Dr. Annette Bosworth, a 2014 candidate on the Republican primary ballot for Senate, on a dozen felony counts of election law violations in 2015. Bosworth […]

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, speaks during a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing on Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Photo Sarah Silbiger-Pool/Getty Images)

Rounds criticizes Trump’s call for ‘termination’ of the Constitution

BY: - December 5, 2022

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, is criticizing former president Donald Trump for proposing the “termination” of the U.S. Constitution. Rounds issued a written statement by email Monday afternoon. “Americans have a deep appreciation for the Constitution and our Founding Fathers who risked their lives to establish it,” Rounds’ statement said, in part. “As elected […]

Tripp County will be the first South Dakota county in two decades to hand count ballots in an election, according to the Secretary of State's Office. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Tripp County will need court order to investigate mismatch between hand count and audit

BY: - November 10, 2022

Barb Desersa was awake 40 hours straight between Election Day and Wednesday.  Nearly a quarter of that time was spent supervising volunteers hand-counting ballots for Tripp County. “We left at 5:30 a.m.,” said Desersa, who serves as auditor for Tripp and Todd counties. “We went home, showered and then went back to work.” Several races […]

Sealed and signed envelopes are dropped into a box at the Brown County Administration Building after registered voters fill out in-person absentee ballots. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Election 2022 sees ballots hand counted, drop boxes removed, security increased

BY: - November 7, 2022

It’s a never-ending game of Whac-A-Mole, said South Dakota Sec. of State Steve Barnett. Citizen groups have spent the last year questioning, challenging and pressuring officials at the state and local level to change South Dakota’s voter registration, absentee voting or ballot counting processes — typically based on incorrect information found on far right websites […]