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Wrong SD primary election ballots given to some in Minnehaha County

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Wrong SD primary election ballots given to some in Minnehaha County


Some Minnehaha County voters had been handed the fallacious poll, or a poll with an incorrect poll stamp on the morning of Election Day, in keeping with the county’s auditor.

These points occurred in legislative districts 2 (east of Sioux Falls, together with Brandon and Valley Springs), 9 (west of Sioux Falls, together with Hartford) and 25 (encompassing the rest of Minnehaha County as much as Dell Rapids), and had been resolved by 10 a.m., county auditor Ben Kyte mentioned.

Extra:Polls at the moment are open for South Dakota’s major elections. This is what voters are saying to date.

Mick Monger, 61, on the MariCar Neighborhood Middle mentioned he needed to take a lunch break to vote as a result of he and different voters had been turned away earlier within the day.

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“We had been unable to vote, they mentioned that they had the fallacious stamp,” Monger mentioned, “I hope all people else had the possibility to get out and vote.”

‘Restricted quantity’ of voters who casted the fallacious vote

Ballots at polling precincts situated at Church on the Gate on W twenty sixth St. (3-11) and MariCar Neighborhood Middle on N Valley View Rd (3-12) had the fallacious poll stamps, whereas different Minnehaha County voting locations had ballots with candidates that did not belong to their district.

That was solely a “restricted quantity,” says Kyte, who’s working for re-election on the Republican ticket in opposition to challenger Leah Anderson.

A lot of the districts that noticed these points had current redistricting boundary adjustments and precinct splits.

Map of Minnehaha County's voting district and precincts as of February 14, 2022.

Based mostly on the numbers he is seeing with points the place a voter casted a fallacious poll as a result of a ballot employee handed them the wrong one, in most polling locations it is lower than a handful of ballots. He predicts, in whole, that may quantity to about 100 ballots.

‘Coaching points’ for ballot staff result in fallacious ballots handed to voters

Kyte chalks up these errors to coaching points with ballot staff on the poll course of and adjusting to the current splits in precincts. His workplace began getting calls round 8 a.m. about reviews of individuals getting the wrong poll or poll stamp, shortly after polls began opening.

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“Sadly it is a coaching challenge, however they’ve good ballot staff on the market,” mentioned Kyte. “It is unlucky these items occurs and we really feel horrible about it, however we tried to get on it immediately.”

It is not too dissimilar to prior elections, Kyte says, particularly with break up precincts the place voters have gotten an incorrect poll previously. 

Extra:Every little thing it’s essential learn about South Dakota’s June 7 major election

Kyte defined, as he is understood from the course of the Secretary of State, that the auditor’s workplace cannot take out ballots as soon as they’re casted.

“If the ballot employee gave them the fallacious poll they usually voted and put it within the mailbox, I am unable to take it out,” mentioned Kyte.

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If a voter casted a fallacious poll as a consequence of that mix-up error, meaning they’ve already voted as soon as and the poll cannot be corrected. Within the case of whether or not a poll is requested earlier than Election Day and is put within the poll field, the county auditor’s workplace has the authority to spoil it and provides them an accurate one.

However that will not be the case for the roughly 100 voters who had been handed the fallacious poll on major day.

The ballots with incorrect stamps are nonetheless being thought-about as a viable poll, mentioned Kyte.

Not sufficient time to readjust precinct strains is the ‘root challenge,’ says county auditor

Kyte instructed the Argus Chief with delays in Census information and the redistricting course of being pushed again months, the county auditor’s workplace did not have sufficient time to regulate precinct strains according to districts.

“We could not try this due to the quick timeframe,” he mentioned.

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In Kyte’s eyes, that is the basis challenge. The state redistricted on the finish of December into January and that left much less time for the county auditor’s workplace to redraw each district line.

That course of divided most of the county’s precinct to have a number of districts in them, which may assist clarify the mix-up of ballots and poll stamps.

Challenger to present auditor ‘involved’ about poll points

Candidates in districts affected by the poll points on the morning of Election Day had considerations on whether or not it may sway election outcomes.

“The distinction of two ballots or 20 could possibly be a race changer for a few of these elections,” mentioned Jessica Pollema, Republican challenger in opposition to present Lincoln County auditor Sheri Lund.

Leah Anderson, a Republican working in opposition to Minnehaha County auditor Ben Kyte, mentioned these points had been of “nice concern” to her.

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“I am involved as a result of I’ve heard that individuals voted on the fallacious poll,” mentioned Anderson.

Voters will be capable of forged their vote on the polls till 7 p.m.

This can be a growing story. Stick with argusleader.com for updates.



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South Dakota

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

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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

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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.

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

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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. 

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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

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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.

Heather Bodden
Heather Bodden(GoFundMe/Kristyn Taber)

The investigation began after three women told police they found Heather Bodden’s body inside the East Meadow Apartments at 1001 Memory Lane.

As of now, the case remains under investigation.

A GoFundMe has been started for Bodden, which can be found online.



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