Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Pennington County residents press commissioners to return to hand‑counted ballots and probe uncertified voting laptops
Summary
At the Aug. 19 Pennington County commissioners meeting, dozens of residents urged a return to hand counting and called for investigations into Election Systems & Software (ES&S) equipment, citing concerns about uncertified laptops, wireless capabilities, and lack of public access to tabulation records.
Dozens of residents told the Pennington County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 19 they want the county to abandon the current electronic tabulation approach and return to hand counting at precincts, citing security, transparency and cost concerns.
The most extensive public comment section of the meeting focused on Election Systems & Software voting equipment and Election Management System laptops allegedly distributed to counties. Heather Baxter of Rapid City told commissioners she believes the Dell Latitude laptops used to run ES&S election software are not approved by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and that some units include wireless or Bluetooth capabilities “which contradict the requirement for hardened systems with no Internet connectivity.” Baxter asked the county to examine past elections and consider a move to hand counting for future contests.
Severa…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
