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Sdakota reservation Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.argusleader.com/news/Thursdayarticle1.shtmlhttp://www.argusleader.com/news/Thursdayarticle1.shtml
Shannon joins counties with voter trouble
Corrine Olson
Argus Leader
published: 10/17/2002
One in every 10 new voter registrations for people in Shannon County during the past few months is suspect and under investigation, Fall River County Auditor Sherrill Dryden said Wednesday, adding to problems surrounding a push to increase the number of Native American voters in South Dakota.
Fall River County handles voter registration for the adjacent Shannon County, which makes up about half the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwest South Dakota. More than 1,000 new registrations have poured into Dryden's office from the reservation this fall, some from new voters and others from people who haven't voted for awhile and need their registration updated.
"We had different birthdays and different signatures. Some of the middle initials were wrong," Dryden said. "We just got suspicious when we see a birthday that's a day or two off or a year or two off. It just sent up a red flag."
Both the state and the FBI have been asked to investigate the problems, she said.
Questions in Shannon County are the latest in a widening controversy surrounding voter registration and absentee ballots in and around reservations in the state. The issue raises the political tension in South Dakota, where in less than three weeks voters will pick a U.S. senator and representative, both of which are close races that could help decide the balance of power in the Congress.
Last week, Attorney General Mark Barnett said one woman working as a contractor for the Democratic Party was under investigation after problems with registrations and absentee ballots surfaced in Dewey and Ziebach counties. The worker - Becky Red Earth of Flandreau, also known by her Dakota name, Maka Duta - was fired by the Democratic Party after questions about her work emerged.
Also, voter-registration cards are being checked for authenticity in Pennington County, a county official said. Two brothers, who were working under a separate Native American voter program, are under investigation in that county, which is home to Rapid City.
Red Earth worked as an independent contractor under the Democrats' program, called the Coordinated Campaign, for several months and in many parts of the state. The Democratic Party has not been implicated in the questionable documents, and Barnett has said officials have cooperated with the investigation.
Barnett said Wednesday he is not prepared to say there are widespread problems with voter registration in and around Native American reservations.
"It is too early to categorize it one way or another. My focus is on one person," Barnett said.
The attorney general's office has had a number of calls from auditors in recent days questioning what they think might be suspicious ballots, he said.
"We know it involves one person, and it could easily expand. We are trying to get up to speed on the one," he said.
Barnett said he is not involved in the Pennington County case.
"The locals are running that investigation as they have the full authority to do, investigate and prosecute," he said.
More agents are being assigned to look into the suspicious registrations and absentee ballots in an effort to quickly resolve the situation, he said.
"I will ask auditors and sheriffs to help separate the wheat from the chaff, have them check it out," he said.
Julie Pearson, Pennington County auditor, said authorities are checking into alleged inaccuracies in 230 voter-registration cards turned in there.
Pearson said employees first noticed inaccuracies in two cards received from two brothers who have been gathering registrations. The birth dates were wrong on both cards, and the middle initial was wrong on one, she said.
"We happened to know both people," Pearson said.
The cards were turned over to Pennington County Sheriff Don Holloway, who said four cards have been found with inaccuracies so far.
"It appears that they were filling out the cards themselves instead of getting them signed," he said.
Those who submit falsified voter-registration cards could face forgery charges, the sheriff said.
"If people have legitimate registrations to vote, we don't want to interfere with that," Holloway said. "We want to make sure the election goes off without a hitch."
Voter-registration project workers are paid for each person they register, Pearson said. She said the area coordinator, Mary Janis, has been working with the auditor's office.
"She's been nothing but cooperative," Pearson said.
Confirmation cards are mailed to verify newly registered voters, the county auditor said. Cards that are returned as undeliverable are suspect, Pearson said.
People attempting to vote under those names could be required to provide some identification or proof of residence before they are given ballots, she said.
Reporter David Kranz and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
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