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Resident urges review of absentee voting procedures after ballots failed to arrive
Summary
A Brookings County resident told commissioners absentee voting and ballot handling failed this cycle, criticized single‑source contracts with ES&S and urged the county to prepare hand‑count contingencies; county staff later confirmed in‑person absentee voting had not begun because ballots had not arrived.
Rick Bridal of Elkton addressed the commission during the public comment period to voice concerns about absentee and early voting for a local election. Bridal said he had tried to vote absentee early twice without success and accused a combination of statutory timing, petition windows and a single‑source contract for ballot production of creating problems: "I think this really emphasizes our disaster recovery plan failed. It's nonexistent," he said, and urged the county to re‑examine the reliance on a single vendor and to consider hand‑count contingencies.
County finance staff later told the commission that in‑person absentee voting had not started because the county had not received its ballots and that there was no ETA on ballot arrival: "We have not received our ballots yet. We do not have an ETA on when ballots will arrive," staff said. Commissioners did not take formal action at the meeting but discussed legislative timing for petitions and broader state‑level issues raised by the commenter.
The exchange captured a mix of citizen frustration and staff confirmation about the operational status of ballots; the commission did not change procedures at the meeting but the commenter urged a full review of contingency plans for future elections.
