Residents urge Pennington County to return to hand counts; commissioners say election equipment choices follow state rules
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Summary
Multiple speakers during public comment urged the commission to abandon electronic tabulators and return to hand counts, citing costs and security concerns; commissioners and staff described state statutory requirements and existing local options.
At the Sept. 16 Pennington County Commission meeting a string of public commentators urged the county to stop using electronic tabulation equipment and return to hand counting of ballots, citing cost, transparency and security concerns. Speakers presented comparisons of per-ballot costs and argued the county could save money by hand counting precincts instead of buying and maintaining tabulators; several cited state policy and recent national commentary to support their position. Commenters said they had provided commissioners with technical reports and expert testimony and asked the commission to “go back to basics.” Commissioners and attendees responded with procedural and legal clarifications: speakers referenced South Dakota codified statute 12-17-B-3 (county authority on election equipment) and county staff noted that tabulating machines used in the county must comply with federal requirements for cast vote records when applicable, and the secretary of state’s guidance on images and logs affects how the county can publish certain machine-generated records. County staff and commissioners suggested that changes to what equipment the county uses would require analysis of compliance, cost and logistics and perhaps coordination with other counties and the state. The public-comment exchange did not generate formal board action; commissioners asked staff to continue to review the county’s election procedures and laws and to provide follow-up information at a future meeting.
