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Residents press McCook County on election integrity, urge audits and hand counts
Summary
Multiple residents urged the McCook County Commission to require more transparent election procedures, present petitions to replace tabulators with hand counts, and pressed the county auditor for records; the auditor and states attorney said requests should be made in writing and legal counsel be present for detailed reviews.
Public commenters pressed the McCook County Commission on August 27 for answers about local election records and urged measures including hand counts and voter-facing votes on election methods.
Doreen Quinn, a Greenland Township resident speaking for Concerned Citizens of McCook County and SD Canvassing, asked the board to encourage the county auditor to provide answers about voter registration and vote-date spreadsheets, citing SDCL 12-4-2 on the auditor’s duties. Barb Hoiten told the Commission she represented more than 200 petition signers seeking an ordinance to define local election conduct and referenced SDCL 12-17B-3 and SDCL 7-18A-13 as authority for submitting initiatives to voters. Gloria Rayman asked the board directly, "do you doubt that we have secure elections today?" and Richard Nolte urged ballots be counted at the precincts rather than relying on electronic tabulators.
Auditor Geralyn Sherman responded later in the meeting that she had answered a caller’s questions "until they didn't make sense," and said she would not continue responding by phone without the States Attorney present. States Attorney Mike Fink advised that requests for records or detailed information be submitted in writing so staff have time to review and respond. Commissioner Dean Koch pointed to the county's post-primary audit and noted that hand counts matched tabulator results in that audit.
The public comments did not result in immediate action on ordinances or voting procedures during the meeting; petitioners asked the Commission to take up the matter for future consideration and to encourage formal written requests so the auditor and legal counsel can respond.
