Secretary of state plans to fix problems
By: Susan Smith
July 27, 2004

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said he plans to fix problems voters experienced in the June 1 special election in time for the November general election.
Changes in state election law require voters to present a photo ID when they go to the polls or sign an affidavit swearing they are who they claim to be. In some precincts that law was incorrectly interpreted and people were not allowed to vote if they had no identification. Congress has said election workers can no longer send people away from the polling place.
Nelson said it was a small number, but "one is too many."
Bret Healy, executive director of the Four Directions Committee, a group that's gathering information about voting problems in preparation for possible civil rights lawsuits, agrees. He said his committee's goal is to make sure there is no more "massive voter disenfranchisement" like the kind he alleges took place on June 1.
Between the June 1 special congressional election and a city election in Lake Andes on June 15 he said 40 people were denied the right to vote - 21 of those in the special election. A lawsuit has been filed regarding the Lake Andes incident.
Healy said if there had been 20 improperly cast ballots there would have been massive media and law enforcement interest.
"It seems 20 people being denied basic civil rights is no big deal," Healy said. "We think it is."
Voters went to the polls in record numbers June 1 to decide whether Stephanie Herseth or Larry Diedrich would represent the state in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the past, record turnout for a June election was 49 percent. Nelson said 56.7 percent of registered voters went to the polls June 1.
"The turnout in South Dakota was fantastic," Nelson said. "South Dakota took that election seriously."
For the special election Nelson said 98 percent of voters brought their identification with them.
"I think that's pretty commendable," he said.
He wants to remind people to do so again in November.
"I don't think that it's too tough to make sure that every person that's putting a ballot in our ballot box is who they say they are," Nelson said.
His office is working to make sure auditors give proper instructions to election workers, he said, so no one is turned away on Election Day.
"Our focus now is on making sure November is right," he said.
His staff is developing a flow chart to be given to the state's election workers that deals with all possible scenarios an election worker might encounter. The chart is organized in a more visual manner than other training materials his office produces. Each precinct will have two copies, he said.
"This will tell election workers how to answer each of the questions (voters might ask)," Nelson said.
Auditors trained election workers on the new procedures before the special congressional election and Nelson said they would do so again before November.
Healy said he has affidavits that state the training lasted only 30 minutes, which he thinks is insufficient.
"There's no wonder that these poll workers didn't understand the law," he said. "The fact is this isn't rocket science. They should have been able to have this done for June 1."
County auditors and state's attorneys are required by statute to train precinct superintendents, but Nelson said his office encourages them to train all election workers. The type of training those workers receive also is up to individual auditors, but the secretary of state's office puts together a precinct manual. Nelson said he encourages each precinct to have at least two copies. His office also produces a video, CD and PowerPoint presentation for auditors to use in the training. His office is updating the presentations that will be given to every county prior to the November general election.
Nelson said that as more election requirements are added the length of training would necessarily increase.
If voters go to a polling place at which they aren't registered and are denied the right to vote they can cast a provisional ballot. Those ballots are counted only after voter claims of being properly registered are verified.
Getting absentee ballots to South Dakota National Guard members also proved a problem in June, Nelson said. Absentee ballot applications were mailed to troops early and were received in a timely fashion by the Secretary of State's office, but Nelson said getting those ballots back to troops in some cases took five weeks. Nelson blamed the military postal system for the poor service. He believes that situation will improve before November. The Pentagon knows it has a problem, he said. For the fall general election Nelson said absentee ballots would be shipped to three ports and overnight delivery planes will get them to troops. And since service people move from camp to camp, Nelson's office is working with the state National Guard to send the ballot where the person is stationed.
It's now easier to cast an absentee ballot in South Dakota because voters no longer need to state a reason for wanting one.
Federal requirements also will mandate that South Dakota have touch-screen voting machines in each precinct by 2006. State and local governments must provide a 5 percent funding match to the fed's 95 percent. Nelson said it's likely that counties will have to come up with the necessary funding. The new machines will ensure that every person, regardless of whether they have physical problems that make it difficult for them to read or fill in a ballot, can vote. The requirement is part of the Help America Vote Act that mandates every person should be able to vote and have it counted the way he or she intended.
This is an exciting year for South Dakota, Nelson said. The state held its first special congressional election since the 1800s and the U.S. Senate race between Tom Daschle and John Thune promises to be one of the most-watched in the nation.
"2004 is a fascinating election year in South Dakota," he said.