Frustration mounts over wait for Minnehaha County’s election results

Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson talks to an election worker during the Sioux Falls city and school board election on April 9, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

SIOUX FALLS — Statewide scrutiny fell on the shoulders of a controversial Minnehaha County official Tuesday night and Wednesday as her office failed to timely report the county's election results.

The office of Auditor Leah Anderson still had not completely reported the county's results as of mid-afternoon Wednesday, although results were trickling out at that time. That held up definitive results in some races, including legislative races, many of which are clustered around Sioux Falls, the county seat and the state's most-populated city.

Anderson, a Republican, has been a lightning rod for criticism since taking office in 2022 after questioning the integrity of the 2020 election. Wednesday, she blamed the delay on the number of voters, limited staffing and the timing of absentee voting.

"It's the sheer volume of ballots, and a lot of absentee ballots," Anderson said. "We had a good amount of staff, but additional staff would be great."

Election officials statewide knew Tuesday's turnout would be high. Secretary of State Monae Johnson predicted turnout around 75%, which would be the state's highest general election turnout in 20 years. The actual turnout figure remained unknown early Wednesday afternoon due to Minnehaha County's incomplete results.

Republican Minnehaha County Commissioner Joe Kippley said he looks forward to Friday's canvassing review to verify vote totals. He expressed concerns about the delay and Anderson's role in it.

"She didn't request staff. She didn't request any of the stuff she evidently needed," Kippley said. "She said she had a plan. It's hard to believe this is 'according to plan.'"

State Rep. Tony Venhuizen, a Republican who represents a Sioux Falls district, said frustration with Anderson is growing.

"I don't know what exactly is going on down there, but I'm hearing from legislators of every stripe who are very concerned that it's taking longer to count the votes in Minnehaha than it did in the entire state of Florida," Venhuizen said. "I think there would be great interest in a legislative fix if that's necessary. Trust in our election system relies on quick, reliable results."

I'm hearing from legislators of every stripe who are very concerned that it's taking longer to count the votes in Minnehaha than it did in the entire state of Florida.

– State Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls

Anderson offered numerous explanations when asked to explain the delay in vote-counting.

According to Anderson, nearly 30,000 early or absentee ballots were submitted in Minnehaha County, with voters continuing to cast those ballots through Monday. Processing absentee ballots involves several time-intensive steps, she said, including verifying voter information, opening envelopes and preparing ballots for scanning.

However, Bob Litz, Minnehaha County's retired former auditor, said 30,000 absentee ballots do not necessarily take that long to process.

"I had 42,000 absentee ballots in 2020," he said. "Yeah, sure, it takes time. But we were done the morning after the election by about 9 or 10 in the morning. I wasn't as far behind as she is, that's for sure."

Litz said he also had three ballot tabulator machines compared to Anderson's four, which "would make a huge difference." Litz said he also shut down for a period overnight while the ballots were guarded.

"When people are up all night, that's where mistakes happen," Litz said.

Anderson said some members of her team worked all night.

"My core team has not come home. They have barely gotten off their feet," Anderson said Wednesday morning. "We're working as hard as we can."

Anderson said after early and absentee voting ended Monday night, the team had to reorganize the space for vote counting, a process that wasn't complete until about 10 p.m. Monday.

"We need to not have absentee voting on the Monday before the election," Anderson said. "It needs to end on the Friday before or something."

Her core team came to the office at 6 a.m. Tuesday, she said, responding to calls from voters, precinct workers and county staff. At 8 a.m., absentee superintendents — election officials overseeing absentee ballot processing — began organizing ballots, which started around 9 a.m., when about 50 additional workers arrived to help prepare the ballots for scanning.

Anderson said the county only reports results to the secretary of state — which reports them to the public — when "about five" precincts have been fully counted. That process pushed initial reporting well into late Tuesday night.

Litz said Anderson's reporting protocol is a preference, not a rule or standard.

"She could be reporting partial precincts to the Secretary of State's Office if she wanted," he said. "That's what we did."

Court order received for counting problem

Court documents reveal that Anderson's count was also affected by other problems.

At 10:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Anderson filed an affidavit in pursuit of a court order. In it, she said that while counting ballots for Precinct 4-6, a tabulation machine jammed. After clearing the jam and restarting the machine, the ballots were returned to a sealed ballot box as required by law, according to Anderson.

Upon reviewing the count, Anderson and her staff found a discrepancy: The machine's tally showed 21 fewer votes than there should have been. They determined that some ballots affected by the jam were not counted.

Because the number of counted ballots did not match the total number of ballots cast, her team did not complete the tabulation or transmit the results to the South Dakota secretary of state. She pointed to a law stating ballots that cannot be accurately counted by the tabulation equipment should be referred to the Minnehaha County Resolution Board for review. And since the ballot box for Precinct 4-6 had been sealed, she was unable to unseal it without a court order, she said in the court documents. That order was issued Wednesday morning.

The 2024 election is Anderson's first time overseeing a presidential contest since her election as county auditor in 2022. She has drawn controversy for questioning the integrity of the 2020 election, calling Minnehaha County's election system untrustworthy, and publicly engaging with groups such as South Dakota Canvassing, which have promoted some unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and interference.

In the June primary election, activist Jessica Pollema challenged 132 ballots from one Minnehaha precinct, claiming they were fraudulent due to the use of P.O. box addresses. The South Dakota Supreme Court ultimately ruled against her, siding with the county and state officials. Pollema was assisting with the Minnehaha County vote count on Wednesday morning.

Additionally, Anderson recently amended county rules to allow voters to wear election-related apparel at polling places, a change that some viewed as undermining election decorum.