Free Republic

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...

There are still nine months to go before the South Dakota Senate election between Minority Leader Tom Daschle and his Republican challenger, former Rep. John Thune. The campaign hasn’t really started yet, but you might as well get ready now for the post-election investigation into voting irregularities. It’s a sure thing. And while you’re at it, you might as well prepare for a murky end to that investigation. There might be clear evidence of wrongdoing, but no one will be found guilty of doing anything wrong. And then it will be on to the next election. Last week, we saw...

Former Republican U.S. Rep. John Thune will announce his political future Monday night, but there seems to be little doubt about what he will do. Thune will make the announcement at Lincoln County's Lincoln Day Dinner in Sioux Falls. Several of the former congressman's good friends in the state say he has decided to challenge Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Click on URL to read article

... Perhaps the most notable miscount locally occurred in Campbell County, where the election canvass revealed that U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., and Democratic U.S. House candidate Stephanie Herseth each had been credited for five votes too many. ... the loss of votes for Johnson could have an impact on his slim victory over Republican challenger U.S. Rep. John Thune if such discrepancies turn up elsewhere. However, Campbell was the only local county with a Thune-Johnson miscount. ...