Activists, officials continue sparring over South Dakota election records, vote counts

South Dakota Canvassing Group leader Rick Weible talks with supporters who question the state’s election integrity prior to a Sept. 20, 2022, press conference at the Old Courthouse Museum in downtown Sioux Falls. (Jonathan Ellis / The Dakota Scout)

An election integrity group that staged a rally in downtown Sioux Falls this month is calling into question the integrity of South Dakota’s elections.

But election officials are pushing back, and those attempting to sound alarm bells aren’t helping them validate their concerns.

Materials released by South Dakota Canvassing Group during its Tuesday rally on the steps of the Old Courthouse Museum include affidavits alleging voting discrepancies. Members of the group say they  interviewed voters and registered voters who say that despite not voting, they’re showing up in voter participation rolls in the 2020 general election. 

The group contends that, in two rounds of canvassing of registered voters this year, from 92 percent to 96 percent of the 361 households surveyed had discrepancies with what voter rolls showed.

In some cases, registered voters were living at addresses that were different from what voter rolls showed.

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The materials have been turned over to the Division of Criminal Investigation, said Jessica Pollema, a leader in South Dakota Canvassing Group.

A spokesman for Attorney General Mark Vargo, who oversees the DCI, did not respond.