Secretary of State
Secretary of state releases election integrity brochure, urges voters to trust officials
A new brochure from Secretary of State Monae Johnson aims to address common election integrity questions in advance of the 2024 election, according to a Tuesday news release. The brochure, titled “A Guide to Secure Elections in South Dakota,” is designed to explain “different security measures South Dakota has put in place to protect our […]
Auditors: New voter residency rules difficult to manage for local election officials
The top election official in South Dakota’s largest county says a law passed last winter that requires all voters to live in the state for 30 days has turned into a headache for her office. Some full-time travelers or out-of-state residents without a home in Minnehaha County wind up on its voter rolls through automatic registration […]
Price tag for post-election audits could be larger than lawmaker expectations
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 […]
Post-election audit rules spark debate on voter intent
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 […]
New records release puts pardons from Gov. Noem at 228
The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office has released 28 additional pardons signed by Gov. Kristi Noem since 2019. Earlier this year, the office released 200 of Noem’s pardons in response to a records request from South Dakota Searchlight. It’s unknown why the additional pardons were not in the first batch. Deputy Secretary of State […]
Barnett resigns early, and Noem appoints Johnson as secretary of state
Gov. Kristi Noem is appointing Monae Johnson as secretary of state, effective Monday. Current Secretary of State Steve Barnett is resigning from the role ahead of the official end of his term on Jan. 2. He will take over as general manager of the South Dakota Rural Electric Association. Johnson beat Barnett for the Republican […]
Thomas Deadrick named Deputy Secretary of State
Secretary of State-Elect Monae Johnson announced Thomas J. Deadrick as Deputy Secretary of State on Wednesday. “As an attorney, former legislator, and former deputy, Tom brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position that will be invaluable to me.” Johnson said in a statement, “Tom has a long history of service to our […]
Incoming Secretary of State looks to hand-count ballots, audit each election
Secretary of State-Elect Monae Johnson campaigned as the candidate who would secure South Dakota’s elections. That message helped her defeat Democratic challenger Tom Cool – who campaigned on concerns about Johnson being an “election denier” – with 65% of the vote. But the campaign is over, and Johnson is thinking about the changes she hopes […]