Posted on 11/02/2004 3:13:16 AM PST by conservative in nyc
The eyes of South Dakota —maybe even the nation — could be on Pennington County tomorrow morning, waiting for election results.
Pennington County is the second most populous in the state, behind Minnehaha County, but Pennington County's two vote-counting scanners are only half as fast as Minnehaha's five machines.
Heavy turnout combined with more than 13,000 absentee ballots in Pennington County mean that returns here likely will come in later than most counties. "There isn't any way we'll get done before 3 in the morning," Pennington County Auditor Julie Pearson said.
If the race between Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and Republican challenger John Thune is as close as expected — and if other Senate races break the right way — control of the U.S. Senate could hinge on votes counted here in the wee hours of the morning.
"They're just going to have to wait for us," Pearson said.
Other factors could push the final tally even later. "The more challenges we have, the later the results will be," Pearson said. "We have to work through each one, valid or not. They have a right to challenge, and we have an obligation to answer those challenges."
Machine malfunctions also could delay results, but the main delay will be counting an unprecedented number of absentee ballots — probably more than 13,000.
Absentee ballots can be counted by machine, too, but election workers must open envelopes and compare signatures. Pearson and her staff will begin doing that when the polls open at 7 a.m., but they can't start counting votes until 7 p.m.
When the first batch of regular ballots arrives from a polling place, election workers will stop counting the absentee ballots and count the other ballots. For the rest of the evening, whenever they get a break in counting the regular ballots, they will count another batch of absentee ballots.
The absentee ballot counting could be slowed if attorneys file challenges — if, for example, they believe signatures don't match.
Pearson is unsure whether, when or how her office will count the 70 absentee ballots that that may have been improperly notarized.
Six former Republican campaign workers are accused of notarizing absentee ballot applications without seeing the voter sign the document. Five of the workers were in Sioux Falls, and one was in Rapid City. Three workers pleaded guilty Monday and received fines. A campaign worker in Rapid City was among the six, but as of Monday evening she had not been charged.
"I've been told by the secretary of state that the Democrats are going to challenge those," Pearson said. "I'm holding those off to the side to see if we get a court challenge to their validity."
A spokesman for the Daschle campaign said late Monday that the Daschle camp would not challenge those ballots.
Although 70 votes is a tiny fraction of the 375,000 South Dakotans expected to cast ballots today, campaign officials from both parties remember that the 2002 Senate race was decided by 524 votes.
It could be a long week in the office of the Pennington County auditor.
Tips to make voting easier
Here are some tips to make your interface with democracy today a more pleasant experience.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
If you can't remember where your polling place is, call your county auditor. In Pennington County, call 394-2153.
Bring to the poll a government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license or passport.
If you don't have a photo identification, or if you forget to bring one, you can still vote. You must sign an affidavit swearing you are who you say you are.
If your name is on the voters roll at your polling place, you can vote by regular ballot — even if you signed an affidavit. If your name is not on the list, you can sign an affidavit and vote by provisional ballot.
Do not ask for a provisional ballot or otherwise try to vote if you have not registered to vote. Signing a false affidavit is perjury, which is a felony. The registration deadline has passed, so if you have not registered already, you cannot vote in South Dakota today.
If you have a problem or question at the polls, first check with the precinct superintendent who should be at the polling place.
If that doesn't work, call your county auditor.
If the county auditor can't help you, call the Secretary of State's office in Pierre at 1-605-773-3537. "We'll spend the day answering any and all questions that might come this way," Secretary of State Chris Nelson said.
Nelson reminds anyone who has requested an absentee ballot but has not returned it, that today is the final day to return those ballots.
"We know there are a number that have not been returned," Nelson said. "If you've got one, you need to get it returned to the (county) auditor in time for the auditor to get it to the appropriate polling place before it closes."
Absentee ballots must be returned to the auditor's office by 3 p.m. today.
You can also visit the secretary of state's Web site at http://www.sdsos.gov/Elections/. The site has voting information, and you can also follow election returns.
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