As auditor’s offices across South Dakota finish their Nov. 5, 2024, post-election audits, those officials are taking notes on parts of the process that could use some tweaking.
During the Hughes County audit on Tuesday (Nov. 19, 2024), the audit board checked the results of the U.S. Representative race and the Amendment G ballot issue from the vote centers in Blunt and Harrold. There was a minor discrepancy, but Finance Officer Thomas Oliva (olive-a) said overall it went smoothly.
The November 2024 general election was the second time counties in South Dakota did a post-election audit, with the first being following the June 2024 primary election. With low voter turnout in June and high voter turnout in November, Oliva said the number of ballots involved did make a difference.
Oliva said auditors will be compiling a list of suggested changes for the state legislature to consider in 2025.
Stanley County will hold its post-election audit Thursday at 9am CT at the courthouse in Fort Pierre. Auditor Phil Burtch says they will audit the Public Utilities Commissioner race and the Constitutional Amendment F ballot issue results from Precinct 3.
Post-election audits are meant to check the accuracy of the electronic voting machine tabulators and must be conducted within 15 days of the completion of the state canvassing of a primary or general election. During an audit, voted ballots from 5% of the precincts in each county– randomly selected by the county auditor in front of the county canvassing board without the use of a computer– are hand counted. Those results are compared to the results produced by the automatic tabulating equipment that was used in the election.
hughes county post election audit 111924
hughes county post election audit 111924
hughes county post election audit 111924
hughes county post election audit 111924
Photo credit DRG Media Group.
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