Nelson refers Daschle concerns to authorities

By Denise Ross, Journal Staff Writer | Tuesday, June 29, 2004

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South Dakota's U.S. attorney, Jim McMahon, will look into voting problems reported after the June 1 statewide election at the request of Secretary of State Chris Nelson.

Nelson forwarded a letter from Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and sent a letter of his own to McMahon last week.

"I said if there was intentional activity to violate state or federal law to prohibit Native Americans or anyone else from voting, it needs to be investigated and prosecuted," Nelson said.

After the June 1 election, reports surfaced that some American Indian voters across the state were turned away from the polls because they lacked photo identification. A new state law requires voters to either show a photo ID or sign an affidavit attesting to their identity.

One nonprofit American Indian voting rights group plans to file a federal lawsuit in an attempt to overturn the state's voter ID law.

Nelson declined to release the letter he sent to McMahon and South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long. Nelson did make public the letter he sent to Daschle in response to Daschle's June 14 letter in which the senator asked Nelson to investigate the reports of voting problems on June 1.

Daschle asked Nelson to "conduct a full investigation into why some voters were incorrectly denied the right to vote and why some election workers were provided incorrect information."

Nelson said he does not have the authority to conduct investigations, so he sent the information on to those who do possess that authority.

"I do not have authority to conduct a criminal investigation but have referred your request to the appropriate law enforcement authorities," Nelson wrote to Daschle.

McMahon said he cannot publicly discuss ongoing investigations, but he did say he is trying to flesh out a couple of the allegations.

"We are doing at least some initial inquiry to find out if anything even merits further investigation," McMahon said. "One allegation was that there are some voters out there who did not have an ID and were told they couldn't vote. They were not given the option to sign an affidavit. The other was the issue of a (poll watcher) harassing some of the voters. There wasn't any more specific allegation than that. Without more, it's very difficult to even know where to start."

In addition to asking for investigations, Daschle asked Nelson to have each county auditor in the state produce a public report on how he or she plans to train election workers in the new laws before the Nov. 2 general election.

In his letter, Nelson did not specifically address the question of hearings or reports from the auditors who oversee

elections in South Dakota's counties.

He did outline actions he will take between now and Nov. 2.

"I am committed to doing everything within my authority to ensure that the general election is conducted properly in every precinct in South Dakota," Nelson wrote. "Voters are entitled to participate in an election which is conducted in a manner free from any partisan or racial influence."

n Nelson and his staff are preparing a list of "recommendations, requirements and

action items" for his office and each county auditor.

**Nelson's office is compiling a list of resources it can provide to county auditors "to assist them in properly conducting the general election."

**Because of the allegation of harassment by a poll watcher, Nelson will send every statewide campaign, interest group and political party a copy of legal guidelines for poll watchers.

"It is my intention that every poll watcher and polling place observer recognize and respect the decorum of our polling places and follow the laws established for conduct in and around our polling places," Nelson wrote.

And Nelson pointed out the positive aspect of the June 1 election n the record voter turnout.

The 56.7 percent voter turnout eclipsed the state's 49.9 percent primary record from 1986, the 34.5 percent turnout for a Kentucky special election held earlier this year and the 21.9 percent turnout in a Hawaii special election.

"The number of voters who voted in our special election was five times the number who voted in a recent Texas special congressional election," Nelson wrote. "We must provide our thanks to the 64 county auditors, their staff and approximately 3,000 election workers across South Dakota who work diligently to conduct the basic element of our democracy n free and fair elections."

Daschle spokesman Jake Maas said Nelson's response falls short.

"Secretary Nelson is on the right track to ensure no South Dakotan is denied the right to vote, but there is still more that can and should be done," Maas said. "For starters, public hearings should be held so we can bring to light and prevent every problem that occurred in the special election. Each county auditor should produce a report on how they plan to train election workers on the new election laws. We're going to continue to urge him to address those two issues."

Contact Denise Ross at 394-8438 or denise.ross@rapidcityjournal.com