Commission approves election pay and polling-location resolutions as public comment raises ballot-handling concerns

The Minnehaha County Commission approved two routine election-administration resolutions — one establishing 2025 election worker pay, facility rent and mileage reimbursement, and another establishing 2025 precincts and polling locations — while public comment included both support for election workers and concerns about ballot-handling procedures.

Leah Anderson of the auditor’s office presented the two resolutions. Anderson said the county has no scheduled county elections for 2025 but is working with the Sioux Falls School District on a potential election. The auditor proposed small increases to pay: the accounting center/absentee board rate from $16 to $17 per hour and an absentee superintendent rate from $18 to $18.50 per hour; other rates were unchanged from 2024. Anderson said the county routinely compares pay with nearby counties and remains roughly mid-range.

On polling locations, Anderson said there were no location changes other than name updates for some sites (for example, Sioux Falls First changed to Life Change Church and Calvary Chapel was sold and is now listed under De Dios S L Padre Church). She noted a few polling places are completing local votes to reaffirm continued use and the auditor’s office is in communication with those sites.

Public comment included praise for election workers. Michael Stanglin spoke in support of paid election workers and referenced hands-on experience assisting with absentee-ballot counting, noting the volume of absentee and mail-in ballots can lengthen processing time. He said volunteers and staff worked long shifts to process ballots.

Cindy Meyer delivered a detailed public comment alleging a ballot-handling procedure she said she observed: that thumb drives were transferred between ES&S tabulators, a hardened (air-gapped) election-management computer and an internet-connected computer during an absentee-count process. Meyer said she documented the events in a sworn affidavit that she filed and that she notified an ES&S representative, Jared Schwab; she stated no corrective action was taken by staff at the time. The claim was presented as an allegation by a public commenter and recorded in the meeting minutes; no county staff rebuttal or formal staff finding was recorded in the meeting transcript.

Following public comment, commissioners approved the pay and polling-location resolutions by roll call votes. A motion to approve the pay resolution and a motion to approve the polling-location resolution were seconded and carried.

Commissioners and commenters repeatedly emphasized the heavy volume of absentee ballots in recent elections and the staffing and logistical demands of processing them.