South Dakota

How South Dakota, Michigan took different paths to 'election integrity'

Published

5 months ago

August 17, 2024

How South Dakota, Michigan took different paths to 'election integrity'

DETROIT, Mich. – Justin Roebuck can recall the exact moment that distrust of 2020 presidential election results impacted his status in the Republican Party.

The top election official of Ottawa County in western Michigan was speaking to a GOP women’s group when he was asked who won the race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden in the Midwest battleground state.

“When I told them that Biden won Michigan by about 154,000 votes, the gasp was audible in the room,” said Roebuck, adding that he was castigated by other party members for legitimizing the results. “I think it hit home for me at that point.”

Roebuck was among a group of election officials who spoke to journalists as part of the National Press Foundation 2024 Elections Fellowship in late July, assessing the state of American voting systems ahead of November.

They illustrated how unfounded claims of voter fraud, exacerbated by public frustration over social restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, emboldened electoral activists seeking to overturn results and erode trust in the democratic process.

These reverberations were felt in South Dakota, where grassroots efforts from organizations such as South Dakota Canvassing Group put pressure on state legislators to address election security through post-election audits and the banning of unmonitored drop boxes.

But the heightened scrutiny of casting and counting votes was hardly unique to the Republican-run Mount Rushmore State.

Michigan, a Democratic-controlled swing state that voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden four years later, was at the center of civil unrest before, during and after the tumultuous 2020 presidential race.

The way the two states handled the fallout – with Michigan expanding voting opportunities through ballot measures and South Dakota restricting access with legislative action – reveals disparate strategies to defend the sanctity of the vote.

South Dakota House Majority Leader Will Mortenson told News Watch that, in the case of restricting drop boxes, there were questions about the “susceptibility of abuse” and whether that justified changing the law. “Or do we have to wait until there’s actual abuse that we see before we address the susceptibility?” he asked.

Poll workers wait for the next South Dakota primary voter at the Instructional Planning Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Tuesday, June 4, 2024.

Stu Whitney / South Dakota News Watch

Ballot measure expands voter access

In June 2021, after months of investigation, a Republican-controlled Senate Oversight Committee in Michigan issued a report that found “no evidence of widespread or systematic fraud” related to the 2020 presidential election in Michigan.

But GOP lawmakers still pointed to vulnerabilities in the system and moved to pass nearly 40 bills aimed at restricting voter registration, absentee ballots, voter ID and drop boxes. Whitmer vetoed the bills and overcame a narrow Republican legislative majority, which has since shifted to a slim Democratic advantage.

In 2022, Michigan voters adopted Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment that established at least nine days of early voting, provided voters with a right to request an absentee ballot, and enshrined voter ID rules that Republicans had sought to restrict.

The measure also mandated at least one state-funded drop box for each municipality, with additional boxes for every 15,000 voters, building on absentee voting reforms passed in a similar Promote the Vote amendment in 2018.

Proposal 2, lauded by supporters as Promote the Vote II, passed with 60% of the vote, a notable mandate at a time of election-related angst in the state.

Message matches the moment

South Dakota’s own introspection on election access was accelerated by groups such as South Dakota Canvassing, whose founders were inspired by My Pillow founder and conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell’s 2021 Cyber Symposium in Sioux Falls.

Lindell, who campaigned for Trump alongside South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, claimed to have incriminating 2020 election data showing that China hacked into U.S. voting systems to help elect Biden. He offered $5 million to anyone who could prove him wrong, which did indeed happen, forcing him into a court battle as he tried to avoid honoring the bet.

“Fair elections equal a representative republic, but stolen elections equal slavery,” Canvassing Group co-founder Jessica Pollema told followers, who put county auditors and commissioners on the defensive by echoing accusations from conservative media and demanding proof of secure systems, even in a state that Trump won by 26 points in 2020.

For some Republicans, the message matched the moment. In a May 2024 poll co-sponsored by News Watch, more than 6 in 10 South Dakotans said they were dissatisfied with how democracy is working in the United States, including 32% who said they were “very dissatisfied.”

The same poll found that 58% of Republican respondents said they accepted the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

‘Make sure that it’s done right’

That was the political climate in which South Dakota’s Republican leadership, in consultation with county auditors, explored the issue of election security during the 2023 state legislative session in Pierre.

Those seeking major overhauls included Rick Weible, a computer analyst and Canvassing Group adviser who supports the hand counting of ballots and criticizes South Dakota’s 46-day early voting period, tied for longest in the nation.

Opportunity Solutions Project, a conservative nonprofit that advocates restrictions to absentee voting, also worked with legislators and county auditors to make it “easier to vote but harder to cheat,” a mantra newly adopted by election reformists.

Some of the testimony included allegations of people dumping unauthorized ballots into drop boxes in other states, without providing proof that it happened or how it was connected to South Dakota.

An Associated Press survey of election officials in each state revealed no cases of fraud, vandalism or theft involving drop boxes that could have affected the results of the 2020 election.

That didn’t mean it couldn’t impact South Dakota in future elections, said Mortenson, who along with Senate Majority Leader Casey Crabtree helped pass a package of 10 election reform bills in 2023.

“Some of the news we heard inspired legislators to kick the tires and figure out if some of the allegations seen in other states would show a vulnerability in our system,” said Mortenson.

“What we found is that we started out with a very secure, trustworthy system. The steps we took were to shore up security and acknowledge that if we’re going to have this really long early voting window, we’ve got to make sure that it’s done right.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact Stu Whitney at stu.whitney@sdnewswatch.org

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South Dakota

South Dakota Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life results for Jan. 8, 2025

Published

4 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

South Dakota Lottery Powerball, Lucky For Life results for Jan. 8, 2025

The South Dakota Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Jan. 8, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

01-20-36-38-43, Powerball: 24, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

13-14-24-37-38, Lucky Ball: 13

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

04-15-33-39-41, Star Ball: 07, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Dakota Cash numbers from Jan. 8 drawing

05-15-25-26-33

Check Dakota Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $100 or less: Can be claimed at any South Dakota Lottery retailer.
Prizes of $101 or more: Must be claimed from the Lottery. By mail, send a claim form and a signed winning ticket to the Lottery at 711 E. Wells Avenue, Pierre, SD 57501.
Any jackpot-winning ticket for Dakota Cash or Lotto America, top prize-winning ticket for Lucky for Life, or for the second prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions must be presented in person at a Lottery office. A jackpot-winning Powerball or Mega Millions ticket must be presented in person at the Lottery office in Pierre.

When are the South Dakota Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Dakota Cash: 9 p.m. CT on Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Dakota editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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South Dakota

Noem’s former opponent heading back to Pierre as she prepares to leave • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

12 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Noem’s former opponent heading back to Pierre as she prepares to leave • South Dakota Searchlight

SIOUX FALLS — Three years ago, Kristi Noem kept her job in Pierre, and Jamie Smith left. Now the situation is reversed.

Kind of like Smith predicted.

“Everyone knew she had national ambitions,” he said Wednesday.

Smith, a Democrat, gave up his legislative seat in 2022 and ran against Noem, a Republican, who wound up winning a second term as governor.

Now Noem is preparing to leave South Dakota for Washington, D.C., where she is nominated to serve as secretary of Homeland Security under President-elect Donald Trump. Her nomination hearing is scheduled for next Wednesday.

Smith, meanwhile, won a state Senate seat in a Sioux Falls district during November’s election. He’ll go back to Pierre on Tuesday for the start of the annual legislative session, where he’ll serve as Senate assistant minority leader.

Addressing members of Change Agents at a Sioux Falls library, Smith acknowledged the challenges he and the other Democrats face in the Legislature. They’re outnumbered 96-9 by Republicans.

“We are very limited in what we can do this year, with the number of Democrats that we have in the Legislature,” Smith said. “We are essentially left playing defense.”

Democrats lose ground in Legislature, but pick up seat in longtime Republican district

Members of Change Agents, formed in 2021, say they support pragmatic candidates and oppose extremist rhetoric and policies. Founders include former Sioux Falls Mayor Rick Knobe, financial planner Mike Huber and entrepreneur Craig Brown.

After the meeting, Smith told South Dakota Searchlight why he came back to politics.

“Because I truly believe that I have the skills to try and help people,” he said. “I do believe that one person can make a difference for the people of South Dakota.”

Smith said finding ways to build relationships across the aisle will be crucial for Democrats this session, like the one he said he built with incoming Senate President Pro Tempore Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, based partly on a simple starting point.

“We share a birthday,” Smith said.

Outlining his priorities, Smith said he plans to introduce a bill that would end incarceration for drug ingestion in South Dakota. South Dakota’s ingestion law is the only one in the nation that allows prosecutors to charge people with felony drug possession for a failed drug test.

Instead, he advocates for expanding treatment programs and diversion efforts, calling incarceration for ingestion punitive and ineffective.

Smith also addressed his desire to amend the state’s abortion ban, his opposition to Noem’s $4 million proposal to fund private and homeschool education, and his resistance to raising sales taxes as a means of lowering property taxes.

South Dakota’s near-total abortion ban allows an exception only to save the life of the mother and lacks clear definitions, said Smith, who called the ban “cruel and unusual.”

“We need to stop it,” he said.

Smith said women’s health care is a top priority for Democrats, but they don’t currently have a bill to increase access to abortion. He said some members want to introduce bills to expand exceptions beyond the life of the mother, while others are arguing for a broader abortion access ballot measure. Voters rejected an abortion-rights measure in November.

Smith also criticized a proposal from some Republicans to reduce property taxes by increasing sales taxes, calling it a potentially unfair shift that could disproportionately impact low-income people.

Smith attacked Noem’s $4 million plan for education savings accounts, calling it a voucher program that would divert public dollars to private schools and homeschoolers. Smith said the program would lack accountability, because alternative schools and homeschoolers are not required to follow the same transparency, testing and other standards as public schools.

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South Dakota

Court documents reveal more details about the Yankton man accused of murder

Published

20 hours ago

January 8, 2025

Press Room

Court documents reveal more details about the Yankton man accused of murder

YANKTON S.D. (KTIV) -Court documents are now revealing more details about the man accused of murdering his girlfriend, last week.

In December of 2021, 32-year-old Craig Allen Nichols Jr. of Yankton, South Dakota was charged with four counts of felony aggravated assault and four counts of simple assault in Minnehaha County.

Craig Allen Nichols Jr. was arrested on several charges related to a death in Yankton, S.D.(Yankton County Sheriff)

Documents say Nichols reportedly used a taser to assault another man, resulting in injury. Nichols was found not guilty by reason of insanity in June of 2023 and then committed to the Human Services Center, located in Yankton, for treatment.

Records report Nichols was released from the center in August of 2024.

As previously reported, Nichols is charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and two counts of contempt of court, after he was taken into custody by Yankton officials and accused of murdering 41-year-old Heather Bodden on Thursday, January 2.