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Residents urge Pennington County to switch to precinct hand‑counting of ballots; commissioners schedule discussion
Summary
Several residents urged commissioners to remove electronic tabulators and return to precinct hand-counting of ballots, citing security concerns; commissioners agreed to place the topic on a future agenda and to invite county auditor staff for a demonstration and discussion on Aug. 19.
Multiple residents used the public-comment portion of Tuesday’s Pennington County commission meeting to urge commissioners and the county auditor to end the use of electronic tabulators and to return to hand-counting ballots in precincts. Speakers referenced federal and state hand-count statutes, the Election Assistance Commission list of certified equipment, and national advocacy materials arguing hand-counting is cheaper and more auditable. Several spoke of demonstrations they had attended and asked the commission to arrange precinct hand-count trials. Treasurer and county staff discussed prior demonstrations and noted the county has used tabulators purchased from ES&S. Commissioners took public comment, asked questions about what other counties are doing and whether Pennington County had hosted a demonstration; several commissioners said they had attended demonstrations in the past and that an agenda item discussion would be useful. The board asked county administration to put an item on the Aug. 19 meeting to host a conversation between the auditor and the commissioners about election processes and safeguards; the county auditor and interested citizens will be invited to that session.
