Butte County Commission Election Recount Challenged in Court - Belle Fourche, SD
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 44° 40.118 W 103° 51.200
13T E 590894 N 4946780
Brought to court in the historic courthouse.
Waymark Code: WM100KQ
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 02/03/2019
Views: 1
County of courthouse: Butte County
Location of courthouse: 5th Ave., (US 85 -The Canam Hwy), Belle Fourche
Phone: (605) 892-2516
-- Election Day was more than a month ago but one KOTA Territory race may not be over.
"A candidate for the Butte County Commission has asked a judge to intervene in a race she lost by two votes.
"Karen Wagner lost her bid for office by a whisker. She asked for a recount. The recount board found a discrepancy. In one precinct there was one more Republican ballot than Republican voters recorded in the poll book.
"There was also one fewer non partisan votes tabulated than non partisan voters logged.
"The referee of the recount board, Spearfish attorney Tim Barnaud, said the panel acted appropriately. "The recount board followed the statutes and administrative rules to the letter," he said by email.
"Wagner disagrees. She points to statute and to a recount rule which states if the number of ballots exceeds the number of names in the pollbook, one ballot should be removed at random and the the total re-tallied.
'"There may be a section of that statute that has not fully been implemented or followed," she said. "And I feel the voters within the state of South Dakota need to feel that the proper procedures are followed and that state law id followed." ~ KOTA TV, By Stewart Huntington, July 6, 2018