South Dakota Republicans prepare to pass sweeping election security bills

Leading Republicans in South Dakota are pushing ahead with a package of bills they say will bolster the security of the 2024 election, which began hearing this week.

The package of bills announced last week by leaders of the Republican House and Senate dealt with issues such as runoffs, recounts and ballot legitimacy. While lawmakers say they view South Dakota’s elections as one of the safest in the country, they also say the system can be made stronger, and they hope the new proposals will help reduce distrust.

“South Dakota has a great electoral system, but we can always be better,” said Republican Rep. Tony Wenhuizen, who proposed extending the runoff general election to 10 weeks instead of eight to avoid timing conflicts. certify ballots. “It’s a pretty small piece of the puzzle in the scheme of things, but I think it’s a good problem to solve if we can.”

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A package of bills from Rep. Will Mortenson and Sen. Casey Crabtree includes language changes that would also allow candidates to run outside the primary. In addition, the runner-up candidates will have to participate in the second round of elections together with the first-place candidates if the difference is less than 35%.

When it comes to recounts, Rep. Amber Arlint has proposed the creation of partisan recount boards that would ensure greater representation of the state’s dominant party. Registered Democrats will make up the Democratic recount committee, and registered Republicans will make up the Republican committee.

This modification is based on Arlint’s personal experience. She won her position against two Democrats by such a narrow margin that a recount was held. Those who counted her ballots included two registered Democrats and one registered Republican.

South Dakota Republicans have introduced a number of election bills dealing with runoffs, recounts, and other election security issues.

“Commissions for the recount of votes can influence the outcome of the elections. They make judgments and could be charged with interpreting the intent of voters,” Arlint said on Monday.

The package also includes a bill from Republican John Sjaarda that would extend the requirement to keep counted ballots for six months – up from the current one month – before shredding them. He said keeping certified ballots for a longer period would resolve unresolved electoral disputes.

Jordan Mason, director of the far-right State Freedom Coucus Network, supported the bill. He pointed to ongoing court cases challenging the election results that lack evidence due to the destruction of ballots.

After former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, lawmakers across the country have introduced thousands of bills to change the way elections are conducted. There is no evidence that there was widespread fraud or other wrongdoing in the 2020 elections.

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Republican Tyler Thordsen on Wednesday raised concerns about electronic voting systems and proposed changing existing vote counting laws. Thordsen’s bill would update the policy to spell out a policy for checking voting tables. From public display notices to post-election advocacy, the bill will expand guidelines on how testing should be done, how test results are reported, how any errors should be corrected, and how to seal the sign after an election.

Among the minority of proposals rejected was an attempt by Democratic Senator Reinold Nesiba to resolve the redistricting issue. Currently, several counties in the state have common polling stations, which means that multiple elections are held in the same voting location. These situations have led to confusion among poll workers, such as inappropriate ballots, leading to integrity issues. Nesiba’s bill outlined requirements for the establishment of polling stations that “represent the interests and conveniences of the county’s voters.”

“When we put poll workers in the difficult situation of having to do two ballots instead of one at their polling station, it allows for more errors to occur and it plays into voter fraud. Nesiba said.

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Several more election-related issues passed through the House State Committee on Friday, including an absentee ballot regulation measure that makes absentee ballot boxes an offense and shortens the period a voter can request an absentee ballot. Other proposals for the electoral system, due to be considered on Friday, have been shelved.