Serious Violations With Election Equipment Found in South Dakota

The South Dakota Freedom Caucus is highlighting serious violations involving non-compliant election equipment in Lincoln, Pennington, Davison, and Minnehaha Counties.

This equipment may violate South Dakota Codified Laws (SDCL). It could also compromise election integrity.

Laptops provided by Election Systems & Software (ES&S) for Election Management Systems (EMS) are uncertified. This includes Dell Latitude 5500, 5501, and 5540 models. They are not approved by the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) under the required certifications by SDCL 12-17B-2.

These systems have wireless and Bluetooth capabilities. This violates the requirement for “hardened” systems with no internet connectivity. It raises serious legal and security concerns.

Invoices and county records given to the Attorney General and Secretary of State show ES&S provided uncertified equipment.

• They failed to notify counties of non-compliance.

• In some cases, they failed to deliver contracted support.

This non-compliance spans years, undermining public trust and potentially calling into question the validity of past elections.

Since 2014, Pennington, Davison, Minnehaha, and Lincoln Counties have spent over $3.5 million on these machines, which counted 45% of ballots in the 2024 general election.

Statewide spending may approach $8 million. This is money that could have funded simple, inexpensive, secure, and transparent hand counting. The hand counting could have been done at a fraction of the cost.