Local News

Early voting probe started

| Saturday, October 30, 2004

A handful of Shannon County residents appear to have cast more than one ballot in South Dakota's first general election in which unrestricted early voting is allowed.

Fall River County State's Attorney Lance Russell said he is in the early stages of an investigation of multiple ballots cast by fewer than 10 voters.

Related Stories
Most Popular

CharmandHappy.com Clowns, Ponies, Trains

Balloon artists, face painters, and petting zoo at Los Angeles, train rides, inflatable jumpers, puppet shows. Gifts can include, Personalized photo buttons and T-shirts with kids photo.
www.charmandhappy.com

Grand Rapids Minnesota Vacation

Modern cabins, kids' activities and top walleye and perch fishing.
www.eaglenestlodge.net

Apartments for Rent in Rapid City

Search Apartment Listings in Rapid City. Floorplans, Pricing & More.
Apartments.com/RapidCity

Ads by Yahoo!

"We do have a few people who have voted more than once," Russell said. "I have asked the auditor's office to put those in a pile. It is my intention to investigate it."

Shannon County, encompassed by Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, contracts for services with Fall River County, its neighbor to the west. Russell said he will have to turn the information over to federal investigators.

Russell said he could not release details about what information appears on the absentee ballots or related documents or about how the situation was detected.

South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson said he was aware of the situation but could not say how the ballots in question might be handled as part of the election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.

"I've got to know the facts first," Nelson said.

Rapid Reply

Show Comments

4 comment(s)

Send us your Rapid Reply

The preceeding are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.

The opinions above are from readers of rapidcityjournal.com and in no way represent the views of the Rapid City Journal or Lee Enterprises.

Rapidcityjournal.com provides this community forum for readers to exchange ideas and opinions on the news of the day. Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude language and personal abuse are not welcome. Moderators will monitor comments with an eye toward maintaining a high level of civility in this forum. Our comment policy explains the rules of the road for registered commenters.

If you don't see your comment, perhaps...

you called someone an idiot, a racist, a dope, a moron, etc. Please, no name-calling or profanity (or veiled profanity -- #$%^&*).
you rambled, failed to stay on topic or exhibited troll-like behavior intended to hijack the discussion at hand.
YOU SHOUTED YOUR COMMENT IN ALL CAPS. This is hard to read and annoys readers.
you named a business or identified a business in a way good or bad. Contact the business directly with your customer service concerns or your praise – they’ll likely appreciate your feedback.
you believe the newspaper's coverage is unfair. It would be better to write Jerry Steinley at jerry.steinley@rapidcityjournal.com or call him at 394-8427. This is a forum for community discussion, not for media criticism. We'd rather address your concerns directly.
you included an e-mail address or phone number, pretended to be someone you aren't or offered a comment that makes no sense.
you accused someone of a crime or assigned guilt or punishment to someone suspected of a crime.
your comment is in really poor taste.