Three South Dakota counties will ask voters during the June 4 primary if they should ban the use of tabulator machines in future local elections.

If the measures pass, the auditor’s offices in each county would have to hand-count ballots in the Nov. 5 general election and thereafter. The votes – in Gregory, Haakon and Tripp counties – were forced by citizen-initiated petitions at the county level.

Petitioners say they want to ban tabulators because they’re concerned about election security and integrity.

State law allows citizens to petition their local governments to put a proposed law to a public vote. The petitions require signatures from 5% of registered voters in a jurisdiction.

The auditors in each county are now working to educate their citizens on the election process, including the accuracy and safety of tabulators, and highlighting the potential financial consequences of hand-counting ballots.

“More than anything, I want my county to be educated about how our elections run,” said Stacy Pinney, Haakon County auditor.

Similar petitions are circulating in 35 counties, according to South Dakota Canvassing, the nonprofit that helped organize the statewide effort. Petitions have been rejected in counties including Lawrence and McPherson, where some county officials cited legal problems with the petition language. Meanwhile, Fall River County is the only county in South Dakota that will hand-count ballots during the primary election.

In Haakon County, Pinney plans to hold three town halls ahead of the June 4 primary to answer county residents’ questions. The final town hall will coincide with her statutorily required public test of the tabulator machines. She’ll also present to the local high school’s senior government class about the election process.

Push for election hand counts spreads despite rejection in Lawrence County

Pinney said many county residents don’t know there’s a resolution board that handles votes cast aside by a tabulator when those votes need further study for voter intent. She added that some people aren’t aware they can ask for a new ballot if they make a mistake.

In Haakon County, the cost of the general election without hand-counting will already be about $10,000 to $15,000, Pinney said.

If the ballot initiative passes, Pinney expects she’ll need 10 extra people to hand-count ballots. That can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 more, she estimates.

Julie Bartling, Gregory County auditor, said if her county’s tabulator ban passes, she’ll have to break up the south-central county’s three precincts into six or 10 precincts to have manageable ballot amounts for hand counters.

That will cost the county $5,000 to $8,000 more – assuming she can convince poll workers who’ve already been working 12-hour days to stay longer and hand-count ballots.

“A lot of people think hand-counting is cheaper, but it really isn’t,” Bartling said.

Bartling said some people think different ballots can be used, but, by law, the county has to use the same ballot whether it hand-counts or uses machines. For Gregory, the tabulator machines cost less than $2,000 each election to use, Bartling said.

Tripp County Auditor Barb DeSersa said she’ll have to find another 65 people to hand-count ballots if the measure passes. DeSersa oversaw Tripp County’s 2022 general election hand-counting effort, when it was the only county in South Dakota to hand-count all its ballots.

DeSersa was awake for 40 hours straight between Election Day and the day after in 2022, with a significant amount of that time supervising volunteers hand-counting ballots. Several races had to be recounted by volunteer counting boards – sometimes three or four times that night.

If the ban passes, she won’t have poll workers hand-count, and she’ll have five hand-count volunteers per precinct rather than three. The extra two will be “onlookers to ensure everything is done correctly,” DeSersa said.

Tripp and Gregory counties will each conduct a post-election audit of all cast ballots after the primary, rather than the state-required 5% audit. 

“I’m anxious for the post-election audit because I want people to know that their automated counting machines are accurate,” Bartling said. “They’re counting correctly and the post-election audit will show that and prove it.”

12 FCS players were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Below are all the former FCS prospects who have signed with an NFL franchise as an undrafted free agent or received NFL minicamp invites.

Undrafted Free Agent Signings:

Alabama State CB Mikey Victor (Patriots)
Alcorn State RB Jarveon Howard (Packers)
Campbell OL Tyler McClellan (Chargers)
Campbell OL Mike Edwards (Bills)
Chattanooga OL Griffin McDowell (Chiefs)
Florida A&M WR Marcus Riley (Jets)
Furman TE Mason Pline (49ers)
Furman OL Jake Johanning (Raiders)
Grambling State EDGE Sundiata Anderson (Seahawks)
Holy Cross WR Jalen Coker (Panthers)
Howard OL Anim Dankwah (Eagles)
Howard RB Ian Wheeler (Bears)
Idaho WR Jermaine Jackson (Saints)
Idaho WR Hayden Hatten (Seahawks)
Idaho LS Hogan Hatten (Lions)
Illinois State TE Cam Grandy (Bengals)
Illinois State QB Zack Annexstad (Buccaneers)
Mercer WR Devron Harper (Vikings)
Mercer WR Ty James (Ravens)
Missouri State WR Terique Owens (49ers)
Monmouth RB Jaden Shirden (Panthers)
Morgan State DB Jordan Toles (Ravens)
North Dakota State OL Jake Kubas (Giants)
North Dakota State RB TaMerik Williams (Seahawks)
North Dakota State OL Jalen Sundell (Browns)
Northern Iowa DB Woo Governor (Raiders)
Northern Iowa WR Sam Schnee (Titans)
Richmond OL Ryan Coll (Falcons)
Rhode Island OL Lorenzo Thompson (Browns)
Sacramento State CB Caleb Nelson (Broncos)
Sacramento State TE Marshel Martin (Jets)
SEMO DB Lawrence Johnson (Saints)
South Carolina State DL Jeblonski Green (Colts)
South Dakota LB Brock Mogensen (Cowboys)
South Dakota State CB Dyshawn Gales (Browns)
South Dakota State LB Isaiah Stalbird (Saints)
South Dakota State TE Zach Heins (Chargers)
South Dakota State OL Garret Greenfield (Seahawks)
South Dakota State WR Jadon Janke (Texans)
South Dakota State WR Jaxon Janke (Texans)
Southern Illinois DB PJ Jules (Bengals)
Southern Utah WR Isaiah Wooden (Falcons)
Towson DB Robert Javier (Titans)
UAlbany WR Brevin Easton (Jaguars)
Villanova OL Nick Torres (Chiefs)
Villanova RB Jalen Jackson (Jaguars)
Wagner RB Chris Collier (Ravens)
Weber State LB Winston Reid (Browns)
Western Carolina CB Rod Gattison (Titans)
Western Carolina WR David White (Jaguars)
Western Carolina OL Tyler Smith (Chargers)
William & Mary EDGE Nate Lynn (Lions)
Yale WR Mason Tipton (Saints)
Youngstown State WR Bryce Oliver (Titans)

Mini Camp Invites:

Central Connecticut State DB Tyler Boatwright (Jets)
Chattanooga EDGE Jay Person (Patriots)
Chattanooga DB Clay Fields III (Colts)
Delaware State RB Michael Chris-Ike (Jets)
Florida A&M QB Jeremy Moussa (Buccaneers)
Houston Christian QB Colby Suits (Jets)
Montana State TE Treyton Pickering (Giants)
North Carolina A&T OL Tairiq Stewart (Patriots)
North Carolina Central DB Brandon Codrington (Jets)
North Dakota State WR Zach Mathis (Buccaneers)
Rhode Island WR Kahtero Summers (Jets)
Richmond LB Tristan Wheeler (Giants/Jets)
South Dakota LB Stephen Hillis (Bills)
Southern Utah WR Timothy Patrick (49ers)
Texas Southern OL Aidan Hemphill (Colts)
UAlbany WR Julian Hicks (Packers)
Villanova RB TD Ayo-Durojaiye (Bears/Chiefs)
Villanova WR Jaaron Hayek (Chiefs)
Weber State OL Noah Atagi (Bears)

South Dakota State running back Isaiah Davis was selected by the New York Jets with the 173rd overall pick in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The 6-foot, 218-pounder played in 46 career games for the Jackrabbits. He recorded 4,548 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns over his four seasons. He helped lead the Jackrabbits to back-to-back FCS National Championships.

Davis earned FCS All-American honors in back-to-back seasons and was named the MVFC co-Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned Freshman and Sophomore All-American honors from HERO Sports.

Davis is the 35th former Jackrabbit to be selected in the NFL Draft. He joins offensive lineman Mason McCormick as South Dakota State players to be selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. It is the second time in the past three seasons that South Dakota State has had multiple selections in the NFL Draft.

Davis is the second running back to be selected by New York in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Jets drafted Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen in the fourth round.

South Dakota State RB Isaiah Davis Scouting Report