Secretary of State

"I voted" stickers, as seen on the front of a new brochure from Secretary of State Monae Johnson. (SD Secretary of State)

Secretary of state releases election integrity brochure, urges voters to trust officials

BY: - November 28, 2023

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 […]

DakotaPost, a mailbox service in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Auditors: New voter residency rules difficult to manage for local election officials

BY: - October 8, 2023

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 […]

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 […]

Terra Eagle Feather, right, sits with a South Dakota Board of Pardons and Parole staffer prior to a hearing on her pardon request, at the Jamison Annex of the South Dakota State Penitentiary on March 15, 2023. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

New records release puts pardons from Gov. Noem at 228

BY: - April 22, 2023

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 […]

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)

Barnett resigns early, and Noem appoints Johnson as secretary of state

BY: - December 2, 2022

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 […]

The state Capitol in Pierre. (Getty Images)

Thomas Deadrick named Deputy Secretary of State

BY: - November 23, 2022

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 […]

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)

Incoming Secretary of State looks to hand-count ballots, audit each election

BY: - November 23, 2022

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 […]