Welcome to the Monday, June 3, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Three South Dakota counties to decide on ballot measures to require the hand-counting of ballots and banning automatic vote counting machines
- South Dakota voters to select legislative candidates as congressional races are canceled
- The United Democracy Project engaged in satellite spending in New York’s 16th Congressional District election
Three South Dakota counties to decide on ballot measures to require the hand-counting of ballots and banning automatic vote counting machines
Voters in three South Dakota counties will decide on June 4 whether to prohibit the use of automatic vote counting machines and require the hand-counting of ballots.
Forty-five states—including South Dakota—use paper ballots, and local officials are allowed to count votes using automatic vote counting machines or systems. Four states—Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, and South Carolina—use ballot-marking devices and systems (BMDs) for all voters. One state—Louisiana—uses direct recording electronic (DRE) systems without Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) printers.
South Dakota Canvassing organized the efforts to place the three initiatives on the June 4 ballot while circulating petitions in other counties across the state. Local initiative campaigns must gather signatures from 5% of a jurisdiction’s registered voters to qualify for the ballot.
Petitions to ban automatic vote-counting systems are circulating in 34 of the state’s 66 counties. Four counties—Butte, Lawrence, McCook, and McPherson—rejected the petitions because some county officials cited legal problems with the petition language. Fall River County will hand-count ballots from the primary election.
South Dakota Canvassing cited election security as a reason for supporting ballot hand counting. The organization said, “When considering who to vote for in the upcoming June 4, 2024 primary election, those willing to speak out publicly on election security are some of the bravest in the field. Many are afraid of tackling this issue.”
Spink County Auditor Theresa Hodges said, “Hand counting has its place. For small municipal and school elections, with generally one to two contests on their ballots, it is doable and the most responsible decision fiscally for those entities. For larger elections with multiple contests, hand counting leaves too much room for human error and is not the most efficient way to tabulate results.”
Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson supported the hand-counting of ballots, saying, “If done properly with a good system in place and training ahead of time, (hand counting) can definitely be effective and efficient, especially in smaller counties. In Minnehaha County, we would need a larger volume of volunteers with equal party representation to make it happen effectively and efficiently.”
Former Secretary of State Chris Nelson (R) said that relying on hand-counting would mean increased errors. He said, “I lived through hand counting. You had election workers who would be at the polling place at 6 in the morning, they would work until the polls closed at 7 at night, and then they would begin counting ballots by hand … You’ve got these folks working until 2 or 3 in the morning, trying desperately to accurately count ballots, and the accuracy just falls away. It’s not there.”
So far this year, 15 bills in 10 Legislatures have been introduced either requiring or permitting the hand-counting of ballots. Only one of those 15 bills was approved—HF4772 in Minnesota. HF4772 adds the option of using paper ballots in precincts that hand count ballots. Additionally, bills passed in two states—Arizona (SB1342) and Kentucky (HB53)—requiring some form of hand-to-eye post-election audits this year. This data was collected using our comprehensive Election Administration Legislation tracker. This user-friendly database covers thousands of election-related bills in state legislatures and organizes them by topic with neutral, expert analysis from Ballotpedia’s election administration researchers.
Voters in South Dakota to select legislative candidates as congressional races are canceled
In addition to the ballot measures, voters in those three counties—and across the state—will also head to the polls to vote in primaries.
U.S. House
The Democratic and Republican primaries for South Dakota’s At-Large Congressional District were canceled because both primaries were uncontested. In November, Incumbent Dusty Johnson (R) will face Sheryl Johnson (D).
State Legislature
There are 105 seats up for election this year—35 in the Senate and 70 in the House. Currently, Republicans control the Senate 31-4 and the House 63-7.
- Thirty-six incumbents—three Democrats and 33 Republicans—are not running for re-election. This is the highest retirement rate since 2016 when 42 incumbents—10 Democrats and 32 Republicans—retired.
- South Dakota legislators are term-limited to serving four two-year terms in each chamber. Of the 36 incumbents not running for re-election, eight senators and seven representatives are term-limited this year.
- There are 44 contested Republican primaries. This is the highest number of contested Republican primaries since Ballotpedia began tracking this figure in 2010.
- South Dakota is one of 23 states with a Republican trifecta. The state has had a Republican trifecta since 1995, when Republicans gained control of the state Senate.
The United Democracy Project engaged in satellite spending in New York’s 16th Congressional District
Throughout the year, we’ll bring you coverage of the most compelling elections—the battlegrounds we expect to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive.
Today, we’re looking at the June 25 Democratic primary for New York’s 16th Congressional District between incumbent Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D) and George Latimer (D).
According to Spectrum News NY1, the “war between Israel and Hamas is a defining issue in the race.” The Washington Post describes Bowman as “one of the most outspoken critics of Israel’s military response to Hamas’s deadly terrorist attacks last fall.” The Post says that “pro-Israel groups have rallied behind Latimer and have vowed to spend millions unseating Bowman.” Bowman says Latimer is “running on famine. He’s running on the starvation of children supported by AIPAC and Netanyahu.” In contrast, Latimer says Bowman has “been in such obvious opposition to Israel for such a long time that it’s alienated people in the Jewish community.”
Bowman’s experience and platform
Bowman is a former teacher and middle school principal who was first elected to Congress in 2020. In the 2022 general election, he defeated Miriam Flisser (R) 64.2% to 35.7%. He is running on his record, saying he has delivered more than $1 billion in funding for the district since taking office. Bowman said he is “a member of Congress who is present, refuses corporate donations, and delivers results for our community.”
- Bowman criticized Latimer, saying he has “been executive in the county for longer than I’ve been in office. Yet there are not enough resources and investments and time and attention paid to the parts of the district who are black and brown and progressive and marginalized.”
Latimer’s experience and platform
Latimer is the Westchester County Executive, a former state legislator, and a marketing executive. Latimer said he “helped lead the effort to make Westchester, a formerly solid Republican County, into a blue firewall that has withstood multiple red waves in recent years.”
- Latimer criticized Bowman’s conduct in office, referencing incidents in which Bowman was involved in altercations with Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Latimer also criticized Bowman for pulling a fire alarm while Congress was in session.
Bowman and Latimer differ in terms of campaign finance and endorsements
- As of March 31, Bowman had raised $2,702,175, while Latimer had raised $3,676,377.
- The United Democracy Project (UDP) has engaged in satellite spending in New York’s 16th Congressional District election this year. UDP is a super PAC affiliated with the pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Commission (AIPAC). As of May 30, Open Secrets reported that UDP spent $2,555,998 against Bowman and $2,342,021 for Latimer.
- Bowman has received endorsements from Congressional Democratic leadership, including Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05), and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (CA-33). While New York State Reps. Chris Burdick (D) and Amy Paulin (D) endorsed Latimer.
What’s next?
- On May 13, Bowman and Latimer participated in a debate hosted by News 12. Click here to watch a full video recording of the debate.
- The primary election is June 25.