Election official: Random hand counts would ensure ballot tabulator accuracy

Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson said manually tabulating all election results isn't her plan, will continue to use machines

Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson says assertions she wants to hand count tens of thousands of ballots cast on Election Day have been misconstrued.

Following an hours-long meeting before the County Commission Tuesday morning, the embattled election official in South Dakota’s most populous county told The Dakota Scout she intends to continue the county’s practice of using tabulation machines during upcoming elections. However, manual counts at voting precincts prior to their delivery to election headquarters in downtown Sioux Falls could serve as a safeguard against inaccurate machine counts.

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“I never suggested fully hand-counting the election. That’s not my intention,” Anderson said. “I would be in favor of random hand-counts at the precinct level, in order to audit the system.”

Anderson’s comments come as the Republican nears the end of her first year as county auditor. During that time, she’s attempted to cast doubt on the integrity of the tabulation process used in county-run elections, particularly calling into question vote tabulation machines provided by vendor Election Systems & Services.