PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ISSUE STATEMENT PRAISING THE LEGACY OF SOUTH DAKOTA’S TIM JOHNSON

WASHINGTON, D.C.(South Dakota Searchlight) – President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday joined the chorus of tributes for former U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson, D-South Dakota, who died Tuesday at age 77.

Biden issued the following written statement:

“Tim Johnson served the people of South Dakota with distinction, and it was an honor to serve alongside him in the United States Senate for over a decade.

“He always put South Dakotans first, and he never forgot where he came from. He worked tirelessly to bring clean drinking water to Americans wherever they lived: rural towns, inner cities, and Tribal lands. And he steered critical investments toward Indian Country and to South Dakota’s development and infrastructure.

“As a Senator, Tim improved access to health care for millions of Americans by providing a critical vote on the Affordable Care Act, advocating for veterans’ health care funding, and fighting to expand Medicaid in South Dakota.

“We also worked together to establish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to defend the backbone of our economy—hardworking Americans.

“Over the years, Jill and I got to know Tim and Barb as true friends. Our hearts are with Barb, his three children, his eight grandchildren, and the people of South Dakota, whose lives Tim touched.

“May God bless Tim Johnson.”

Harris also issued a statement:

“Senator Tim Johnson was a tenacious fighter for the people of South Dakota.

“Throughout his career—as a member of the South Dakota legislature, as the state’s sole representative in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a U.S. Senator—he brokered compromise and advanced commonsense solutions that improved the lives of South Dakotans and all Americans.

“Senator Johnson secured support for critical water infrastructure that delivered clean water to communities across South Dakota, including Native reservations and rural communities across the state. He played a vital role in passing the Affordable Care Act, which delivered high-quality, affordable health care to millions of Americans, including tens of thousands of South Dakotans. And as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, he championed community banks and housing finance reforms to help ensure that rural communities across the nation have the support they need to access safe and affordable housing.

“His life and legacy will be felt by generations of South Dakotans and all Americans to come. Doug and I send our prayers to his wife, Barbara, and the entire Johnson family.”

Johnson, a Democrat like Biden and Harris, served a combined 36 years in state and federal offices, more than any other South Dakotan, and never lost an election despite running in a Republican-leaning state.

He suffered stroke-like symptoms from a cerebral arteriovenous malformation in 2006 that continued to affect his speech and mobility until his death.

Johnson served in the state House, state Senate, U.S. House and finally the U.S. Senate before retiring rather than seeking reelection to another U.S. Senate term in 2014.

Johnson’s funeral is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Oct. 18 at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls.

 

AMENDMENT H; OPPOSING SIDES DIFFER ON THE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES OF OPEN PRIMARIES

SOUTH DAKOTA (Makenzie Huber / South Dakota Searchlight) – Supporters of open primaries say shifting to a top-two primary system will whittle candidates down to those who represent a majority of South Dakota voters. But opponents argue it will limit voters’ choices each November.

Amendment H, one of seven statewide questions on South Dakotans’ Nov. 5 ballot, proposes opening up future primary elections and placing all candidates, regardless of party, on a single ballot. The top two vote-getters would advance to the general election.

Currently, only registered Republicans are allowed to vote in Republican primaries. Democrats and independents can vote in Democratic primaries.

The measure would amend the state constitution to implement the change. A “yes” vote supports replacing partisan primaries with a top-two system for all state and local offices. A “no” vote opposes the initiative and keeps South Dakota’s current primary system in place.

Sioux Falls businessman and longtime Republican Joe Kirby leads South Dakota Open Primaries. He hopes the reform increases voter turnout so independents get a “meaningful vote” and candidates change primary campaigns to appeal to all voters.

Washington became the first state to adopt a top-two primary system in 2004, but wasn’t able to implement it until 2008 due to court challenges. California adopted the system in 2010 and implemented it in 2012. Nebraska uses a top-two primary system for state legislative offices, and does not list political parties because the Legislature is nonpartisan.

Both the South Dakota Republican Party and the South Dakota Democratic Party oppose the measure. Democratic Party Executive Director Dan Ahlers said the amendment would not significantly affect voter turnout or candidate moderation.

Increasing voter turnout?

Proponents of Amendment H point to the South Dakota June 2024 primary’s 17% voter turnout — the lowest in recent history — as a reason to switch to a top-two system. In a Republican-leaning state, the primary is more important to many Republican candidates than the general election, even though about half of South Dakota registered voters can’t cast their vote in Republican primaries.

Aside from this year’s primary — which included no statewide races, one Democratic legislative primary and 44 Republican legislative primary races — voter turnout in South Dakota primaries increased over the last decade.

Kirby said a top-two primary would significantly increase voter turnout because it would allow “meaningful” primaries for non-Republican South Dakota voters.

Citing a fiscal estimate from the Legislative Research Council, Kirby said voter turnout would grow by 50,000 voters — which would have increased turnout from 17% to 25% in this year’s primary, or from 32% in 2022 to 40%.

But Ahlers said that estimate is taken out of context. The Legislative Research Council merely estimated the number of extra ballots needed for primaries, not the actual turnout.

“They always have to put a buffer number in there,” he said.

If Amendment H passes, Ahlers doesn’t expect voter turnout to increase significantly. It’s not a primary model that will draw people out to vote but rather the candidates and the issues, Ahlers said. That’s the responsibility of parties, he said, to recruit quality candidates and encourage people to vote.

Average voter turnout in Washington has been lower in some years since the adoption of open primaries, including 31% in 2014, and higher in others, including 54% in 2020. Turnout has been similarly mixed since the implementation of open primaries in California, ranging from 25% in 2014 to 48% in 2016, and never yet equaling the state’s modern, pre-open-primaries high of 58% turnout in the 2006 primary.

Michael Ritter, an assistant professor specializing in election research at Washington State University, said that “more accessible primaries” do boost primary turnout, generally. Open primary models can make voting more accessible to citizens, and it may also increase a person’s commitment to political advocacy, he said.

But, Ritter said, open primary models don’t boost turnout by 10% or more. Just by a few percentage points, or less than 5%.

“That may sound trivial, but it can be important because a lot of elections in this country are decided at the margins,” Ritter said.

Appealing to all South Dakota voters or limiting their options?

Kirby said a top-two primary system shifts away from “party control” and encourages candidates to appeal to all South Dakota voters rather than just a party.

“It’s better to empower the voters of the state,” Kirby said. “Parties will no longer be in control of elections. The voters will be.”

Ahlers said the constitutional amendment is pushed by Republicans who are “frustrated with their own party.” He said the amendment will “disenfranchise voters” because a top-two system could limit the political diversity of candidates on the general election ballot. Two Republicans could appear on the general election ballot rather than a Republican with a Democrat, Libertarian and independent.

“You hear the word ‘open’ and you think, ‘Great. An open process where everyone can participate.’ But this limits your choices. It limits the opportunity for more voices to be heard,” Ahlers said.

In California, the top-two system has motivated new kinds of political strategizing.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Adam Schiff ignored his two Democratic opponents in this year’s primary and instead focused attention on Republican candidate Steve Garvey, even though Garvey has little chance at winning the general election in the Democratic-leaning state. That strategy helped Schiff maneuver Garvey into position as Schiff’s preferred general election opponent, a CalMatters columnist wrote earlier this year. Instead of appealing to moderate voters, Schiff made a partisan appeal to manufacture a relatively easy campaign for himself in the general election.

“Gamesmanship happens in politics,” Kirby countered. “That’s not at all a flaw in the open primary system.”

Republican Rep. Bethany Soye, of Sioux Falls, who opposed Amendment H during a recent debate at the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary, said the top-two system will make it harder for independent or “grassroots” candidates to run for office because campaigning will be more expensive. They’ll run against more opponents and have a longer campaign cycle, which will “guarantee the perpetual rule of big money” in South Dakota, Soye said.

“The general election is going to be in June and there will never be another independent candidate on the ballot in November,” Soye said.

Washington’s primary came under fire this year as a “bloody mess” because the ballot had an overwhelming number of candidates, wrote a Seattle Times columnist. There were 28 candidates listed on the ballot for governor alone.

There is no limit in Amendment H on the number of candidates that can run in a primary. Kirby said the South Dakota Legislature can address that concern if the measure passes, such as setting the number of petition signatures needed to file a candidacy at a higher level to discourage frivolous campaigns.

The potential for a legal challenge

The attorney general’s explanation of Amendment H notes that the amendment might be challenged in court, but doesn’t say why. The office did not respond to questions from South Dakota Searchlight.

Ahlers dislikes another portion of the amendment’s language, which says “a candidate may select the name of a political party to be listed next to the candidate’s name on the primary ballot.” Ahlers said that provision “encourages voter deception” by allowing candidates to identify with a party even if they aren’t registered with that party.

While candidates can already register under one party and then switch registration once elected, Ahlers said that’s harder to pull off under the current system.

Kirby said if someone is “misrepresenting themselves,” political parties and the media will hold them accountable. He said it hasn’t been an issue in other states.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA SECRETARY OF STATE POINTS FINGER AT DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ON TOPIC OF NON-CITIZENS BEING REGISTERED TO VOTE

PIERRE, S.D. (Joshua Haiar / South Dakota Searchlight) – The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office is blaming the state Department of Public Safety for errors that allowed 273 non-U.S. citizens to register to vote.

“These non U.S. citizens had marked ‘no’ to the citizenship question on their driver’s license application but were incorrectly processed as U.S. citizens due to human error by the Department of Public Safety,” wrote Rachel Soulek, director of the Division of Elections in the Secretary of State’s Office, in response to South Dakota Searchlight questions.

Noncitizens can obtain a driver’s license or state ID if they are lawful permanent residents or have temporary legal status. There’s a part of the driver’s license form that allows an applicant to register to vote. That part says voters must be citizens.

Searchlight shared Soulek’s statement with the Department of Public Safety on Thursday and asked for a response, but the department did not immediately reply.

State election offices are responsible for reviewing the submitted registration forms, according to the Bipartisan Policy Institute. Verification can involve cross-referencing databases, such as the Social Security Administration or state records, to confirm the applicant’s eligibility.

The improper registrations are being purged, state officials said earlier this week.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, while noncitizen voting is illegal in federal elections, mistakes can occur during the registration process. They say such mistakes are typically accidental and not driven by malicious intent.

Soulek said only one of the 273 noncitizens had ever cast a ballot. That was during the 2016 general election.

Searchlight sought the added information after the Department of Public Safety issued a news release Monday announcing it had worked with the Secretary of State’s Office and the state Bureau of Information and Telecommunications to purge the noncitizens from voter rolls.

“This discovery was part of a review to ensure the integrity of South Dakota’s elections and safeguard against improper voter registration,” the news release said.

The department said nothing further in the news release about how the noncitizens were discovered on the voter rolls, how they became registered in the first place, what counties they registered in, or whether any of the noncitizens had ever cast a ballot.

Spokesman Brad Reiners, who shared the news release with South Dakota media, responded Monday to Searchlight questions about the news release by saying “the press release speaks for itself” and referring questions to the Secretary of State’s Office.

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota alleged Tuesday that the state violated the National Voter Registration Act. The act prohibits voter list maintenance within 90 days of a federal election unless it’s based on individualized information or investigations, the ACLU said.

Samantha Chapman, ACLU of South Dakota’s advocacy manager, said the state can make individualized inquiries into specific voters with evidence to support its claims that an individual is not legally eligible to vote, but “it cannot enact blanket purges based on potentially inaccurate databases this close to the election.”

“The risk of disenfranchising eligible voters at this late stage is simply too high when voters have a mere 13 days before the voter registration deadline,” Chapman said.

Soulek said the 273 noncitizens were registered in the following counties. She did not provide a breakdown by county.

Aurora

Beadle

Brookings

Brown

Brule

Charles Mix

Clark

Clay

Codington

Corson

Custer

Davison

Deuel

Douglas

Grant

Hamlin

Hughes

Lake

Lawrence

Lincoln

Lyman

McCook

McLaughlin

Meade

Minnehaha

Moody

Pennington

Perkins

Potter

Roberts

Sanborn

Stanley

Sully

Todd

Tripp

Union

Walworth

Yankton

 

UPDATES PROVIDED BY ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL AND AVERA ST. ANTHONY’S IN AFTERMATH OF EXPLOSION IN O’NEILL NEBRASKA

O’NEILL, NE – New details have been released by both the school and hospital involved in that explosion that destroyed the two story parish building on Monday.

A statement released by St. Mary’s Catholic School in O’Neill, Nebraska says a structural engineer has found both buildings involved with the explosion to be structurally sound.

The school says before any work can take place, some repairs and environmental quality testing need to take place. The school also says since these repairs can take a long time they have decided to move its students to alternative locations.

The school says the following locations have been planned for the following grades:

Pre-K, Preschool, Kindergarten and First Grade: The former public school administration building

Grades 2-6: Faith Community Church classrooms

Grades 7 – 12: Northeast Community College O’Neill campus

Even though an official start date has not been released, the school says a time will be set for parents and students to visit the temporary classrooms.

The Monday morning explosion not only affected St. Mary’s Catholic School but also the nearby hospital, Avera St. Anthony’s. On the same day that the school released a statement, Avera St. Anthony’s released a statement saying that the Avera Medical O’Neill Physical/Occupational Therapy and Sleep Lab re-opened on Thursday, but not the Avera Medical Group Specialist O’Neill clinic.

The rest of the hospital will remain closed to address building repairs.  Avera St. Anthony’s urgent care facility that was set up at the O’Neill Community Center for the last three days has now closed and Avera clinics in Spencer, Ewing and Chambers have now resumed normal business hours.

Avera St. Anthony’s also says its staff have been or will be in contact with those who are scheduled for any clinic or hospital appointments.

Anyone who has questions on hospital visits can call (402)-336-2900. Other calls can be directed to (402)-336-2611 then dial 0,