Pennington County residents press commissioners to return to hand‑counted ballots and probe uncertified voting laptops

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.

Several other speakers reinforced Baxter’s points. A number of residents outlined logistical and financial arguments for precinct hand counts, saying hand counting is auditable, keeps work local and costs less than use of tabulators. One commentator, who said he had observed a recent hand count, described a four‑person bipartisan table that can reliably process ballots while producing immediate, auditable tallies. Another speaker, former Representative Phil Jensen of the South Dakota Freedom Caucus, read a statement calling for a statewide audit of ES&S equipment and noting the company’s machines counted about 45% of statewide ballots in 2024.

County officials and commissioners took questions from speakers and asked staff to gather more information. Auditor Cindy Young told the board she would not comment on an active, pending petition about the laptops that the State Board of Elections is reviewing and encouraged speakers to use that process; she also offered to provide the county’s supporting documents to commissioners. Commissioner Jordan Hadcock asked for the specific technical details cited by commenters and was told several participants had submitted source documents and would provide them to the county.

Commissioners did not take policy action that day but acknowledged the public concern and asked staff to compile the technical and legal materials cited by speakers, including EAC certification status and any administrative rulings. The board said it would consider the information for future agenda items and for the county auditor’s office to review audit and procurement records.

Why it matters: Residents said they have low confidence in machine counts, that some counties’ systems cannot read or decrypt cast‑vote records, and that expensive proprietary systems reduce local transparency and keep taxpayer dollars out of the community. Commissioners said they would gather evidence and legal staff will watch the pending state proceedings cited by multiple speakers.

What the county will do next: Commissioners asked staff to collect the certification and procurement records cited by commenters, coordinate with the County Auditor and the State Board of Elections process, and report back to the board on options — including the legal and budgetary consequences of switching to precinct hand counts and whether interim audits or demonstrations can address voters’ transparency concerns.

Ending: Speakers asked for prompt action before the 2026 midterms; commissioners said they would not rush a decision but would compile the cited documents and return the matter to a future meeting for possible further action.