Most of the boxes were connected to county buildings and were available to voters during non-business hours, which would not be allowed under the new law. Of the 58 respondents, 33 (57%) reported using drop boxes as receptacles for absentee ballots in 2020 or 2022 or both, a practice that became more common during the COVID-19 pandemic. South Dakota did not record a single case of voter fraud or other election-related crimes tied to the use of ballot drop boxes in 2020 or 2022, according to the survey that drew responses from 58 of 66 counties, including 29 of the top 30 by population.
No fraud tied to drop boxes in past two elections Kristi Noem signed it on March 21, one of 10 election-related bills that House Majority Leader Will Mortenson said would “keep South Dakota the model for election integrity and voter access.”īut the premise used to outlaw the use of drop boxes – that they are vulnerable to fraud and used to rig electoral outcomes – is false, according to a South Dakota News Watch survey of every county auditor in the state.įurthermore, most auditors said they oppose the ban because it will make it harder, not easier, for voters to participate in the democratic process. HB 1165 passed both houses and Republican Gov. Newsletter: Get the latest stories from News Watch in your inbox
“We need to make sure someone isn’t taking a hundred ballots and stuffing them into a ballot box.” “Other states have a lot of issues with people just going out and pre-filling these absentee request forms, doing the work for the voter except signing their name, and then dumping ballots,” Nelson testified.
Nelson, a lobbyist for Opportunity Solutions Project, a conservative advocacy group that has pushed for restrictions to absentee voting in state legislatures, also issued warnings while working with legislators and county auditors to make it “easier to vote but harder to cheat,” a mantra used by supporters of early-voting reforms. He was the prime sponsor of House Bill 1165, which modified absentee voting rules and banned the use of unmonitored drop boxes in South Dakota. “It’s simply too easy for bad actors to abuse these drop-off sites to dump unauthorized ballots illegally,” said Republican Rep. When the question of using election drop boxes for South Dakota early voting was raised in a House State Affairs committee hearing in Pierre in early February, the discussion took on an ominous tone, mirroring national rhetoric over the integrity of American elections. A drop box is shown outside the Minnehaha County courthouse during the 2020 election.
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