Election charades?
Election issues only occur in places like Pennsylvania and Arizona. Right? Leah Anderson, the Republican Candidate for Minnehaha Auditor, gives us an inside look at some of the election issues in SD.
In 2016, over 60% of Democrats believed the election was stolen. In 2020, over 60% of Republicans believed the election was stolen. We cannot have disputed elections and expect the United States to survive.
We have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process.” — Hillary Clinton
Many people think election issues only plague more populous states like Arizona and Pennsylvania. Sadly, recent work by South Dakota Canvassing suggests South Dakota has election issues too.
Here are some of the most troubling findings:
Changing Totals (2020 General Election)
The election was certified on Nov. 10, 2020, but the official Secretary of State (SOS) website showed the total votes cast shifting upwards and downwards through Dec. 29, 2021.
On April 2, 2021, the SOS site showed a total of 427,529 ballots cast in the state, but only 422,609 ballots cast by county (a 4920 vote discrepancy).
Voting Dead & Multiple Times (2020 General Election)
256 voters were over 120 years old
11 voters voted twice
Voting Without Registration (2020 General Election)
4,379 ballots cast could not be connected to a registered voter
472 people voted without proper registration (registration ended 10/19, some registered after they voted)
Out of State & Foreign Voters (2020 General Election)
South Dakota law allows people living full time in RVs to register and vote in South Dakota through mail-forwarding companies. Five mail-forwarding companies (there are more in the state) recorded 10,388 votes. About 1/3 of the votes had address issues.
1,113 voters had non-military out-of-country addresses in South Korea, Thailand, France, etc.
1,893 votes had campground, hotel, and motel addresses
328 votes had no street address listed (invalid address)
150 votes had a police station, non-profit organization, government building, or Walmart as the address
Voter Roll Issues (2022 Before Primary Election)
On Feb. 5 and Mar. 15, 2022, South Dakota Canvassing went door-to-door and spoke with voters in the three largest counties (by population) in the state. As part of this effort residents at 361 homes were reached. Over 92% of the voters contacted identified voter roll discrepancies.
I look forward to making the Minnehaha County elections more transparent! If you’d like to help me get there, please VOTE in November and help pick up the tab.
Thanks, Leah