Monae Johnson who is running for South Dakota Secretary of State, issued a press release ahead of the Republican Convention of Delegates regarding issues arising from concerns that ballots were issued to the wrong precincts, placing ballots in the hands of the wrong voters.

South Dakota Codified Law sets firm rules on What, When, Where, and How Election Precincts shall be managed:

"The board of county commissioners shall by resolution provide for election precincts throughout its county and shall designate polling places within such precincts. The board shall establish new election precincts if required by the provisions of this chapter and may by resolution change the boundaries of election precincts already established. The county auditor shall be able to provide separate lists of voters living within the boundaries of each municipality, ward, school district, and any other special voting district; Whereas, the official in charge of a local election shall notify the county auditor at least forty-five days before a local election if any external boundary changes have been made for the precinct, ward, or representation area. In even numbered years, the official in charge of a local election shall notify the county auditor at least one hundred days before the primary election and at least one hundred days before the general election if any external boundary changes have been made. The resolution of the board of county commissioners establishing new precincts or making any change in precincts already established shall clearly set forth and define the boundaries of the election precincts established or altered. In all precincts the board of county commissioners shall adjust the size of any precinct at which there was unreasonable waiting time imposed upon the voters at the last preceding general election. Under ordinary circumstances, more than thirty minutes waiting time is deemed unreasonable waiting time except at the time when the polls close. Polling places shall be selected with reference to the convenience of the voters in the various election precincts, and should be as near the center of the election precincts as practicable but if in their judgment the convenience of the voters will be served thereby or if communication can be thereby made available, the polling place may be located outside the boundaries of the precinct." - SDCL 12-14, Sections 1-4

As delegated by the South Dakota Secretary of State, whose office is tasked with obtaining, managing, and maintaining voter registration rolls, let alone regulating, and enforcing the rules concerning state and local elections, registered voters, and the ballots themselves, it all starts with the Board of County Commissioners who are then tasked with carrying out the duties of holding such elections.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

State law states that the primary election provided for in chapter 12-6 shall be held at the regular polling place in every voting precinct throughout the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June of every even-numbered year, whereas no statewide election or referendum may be held on a date other than a date ordinarily provided by statute for a primary, runoff, or general election, with the exception of a date provided by the Legislature to hold a special election.

The county auditor shall provide printed ballots for each election in which the voters of the entire county participate. Except as provided in § 12-6-9, printed ballots for a primary election shall contain the name of each candidate who has filed for nomination and is approved. The printed ballots for the election of officers shall contain the name of each candidate whose nomination has been certified or filed with the county auditor in the manner provided by law unless the candidate is deemed elected by having no opposition. The names of the candidates shall appear on the ballot exactly as listed in the declaration of candidacy of the candidates' nominating petitions. Sample ballots shall be printed on paper of a different color from the official ballot but in the same form. The sample ballots and official ballots shall be printed and in the possession of the county auditor not later than forty-eight days prior to a primary or general election. However, if there is a challenge pursuant to § 12-1-13 or12-1-16, official ballots may not be printed until the challenge has been resolved or until sixty days prior to the primary or general election, whichever occurs first. The county auditor shall also prepare the necessary ballots if any question is required to be submitted to the voters of the county. Ballots for general elections shall be of the style and form prescribed in §§ 12-16-2 to 12-16-11, inclusive.



Absentee Ballots: An absentee voter desiring to vote by mail may apply to the person in charge of the election for an absentee ballot. The application or request shall be made in writing, signed by the applicant, and shall contain the applicant's voter registration address. The application or request shall contain an oath verifying the validity of the information in the application or request. The oath shall be administered by a notary public or other officer authorized by this state to administer an oath or administered by an out-of-state notary public. If the application or request does not contain an oath, the application or request shall be accompanied by a copy of the voter's identification card as required by § 12-18-6.1. The copy of the voter's identification card shall be maintained by the person in charge of the election pursuant to § 12-20-31. However, the voter's identification card is not available for public inspection; whereas Absentee voting shall begin neither earlier nor later than forty-six days prior to the election including any voter identified as being covered by the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Under South Dakota Codified Law, and those ballots governed by Federal law protecting those 'citizens" who are outside the voting district on or around the election date - the Secretary of State, the County Board of Commissioners, the Auditor, the Election Boards themselves are sworn to safeguard all "ballots" ensuring that no more than 1 citizen prescribes by oath that they received their ballot, within their voting precinct, and returned such ballot to the proper precinct on the specific date, time, and polling place. Once the "ballots" are printed within the county itself, they must be fully protected, secured, inventoried, tracked, and recorded.



As a former poll worker - upon opening up a polling place, the first item of business is to secure the ballots, inventory the ballots, place a deputy in charge of the ballot, as such, that each ballot shall be properly recorded. The poll worker(s) must check in the registered voter, ensure they are a legal citizen or resident of the State, are an active or non-active voter, must ensure they are in the proper precinct.

The only legal "date" of the election shall only be the codified date of the primary or general election itself, between the hours of 7:00 AM and 7:00 PM, while the Absentee Ballots must be picked up no earlier than forty-five days prior the election date, and delivered no later than the 7:00 PM date of the election itself. That ballot must only be touched by the poll worker to voter, back to the poll worker and/or ballot box.

If there is any notion that a ballot has been improperly displaced, sent to the wrong address, or given to the wrong voter, the Secretary of State shall order a complete tracking of that ballot, and worst case event, shall order a complete Investigation, Audit, Inventory of, and Review of all possible ballots printed, sent out, and received, noting the very people who came into contact with that ballot itself. Every ballot must be time stamped, coded, and tracked, by the election official, the poll worker, the voter, even the post office.

There is no legal reason why any specific ballot should be delivered improper, the chain of custody is always monitored, tracked, and recorded, with all records publicly kept on file, for at least twenty-four months afte the election date itself.



IF there is any sign of fraud, abuse, unlawful activity - the State Legislature has the full complete authority as the governing body to demand a public hearing, thus summoning all Public Officials, Officers, Voters, any Witness necessary to carry out a full public investigation in order to carry out the law, and to enforce the law in order to safeguard, and maintain a free, fair, and honest federal, state, and local election at all times.

Any concerned citizen, let alone their representatives may bring forth any cause of alarm to the legislative branch where they feel there may be the potential of any misconduct or mishandling of ballots are concerned.

Monae Johnson, who is running for the very public office tasked with safeguarding all public election data, and as a citizen, has every right to bring forth to the proper authorities just cause to investigate election irregularities.

"Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and this world." – Sharon Salzberg

We owe it to ourselves to Protect that Right, Safeguard all Public Documents, let alone Investigate for Fraud, Abuse, Misconduct, and Mistrust.


--Mike Zitterich

Post Date: 2022-06-08 20:00:00

Last Update: 2022-06-09 11:10:25