From the Rapid City Journal, today’s editorial has some particularly strong words for the Secretary of State with regards to Election Day voting problems and how results were reported last Tuesday:
While voting officials in the seven other counties were able to overcome the issues with the e-poll books, it was a different story here. Election workers were unprepared for the technology problems and unable to respond to puzzled voters who in some cases were told to call the county auditor’s office for help. Media outlets quickly learned, however, that those calls would shed little light on the developing situation.
A call to the Secretary of State’s Office about whether the voters should be issued provisional ballots added another layer of confusion, something that may have been averted if Secretary of State Shantel Krebs wasn’t busy with her own election, a failed bid to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. House.
and…
The problems that happened on Election Day can all be attributed to human error if preparation is considered. It’s clear no Plan B was in place in the event the e-poll books malfunctioned and that no plan was prepared to notify the public of problems. The failure of the Secretary of State’s to be more helpful and its confusion on the use of provisional ballots contributed to an inexcusable disenfranchisement of voters.
When she claimed she fixed problems it must’ve been like when she claimed she cut her budget. Complete bunk.
” . . . 7 other counties were able to overcome the issues”. Says it all right there.
Methinks the Journal doth protest too much pointing fingers anywhere but the ongoing dysfunction of Rapid City local politics & government.
This could turn into a ferocious convention battle between her and Barnett.
Last I heard she wasn’t running. SOS is not a consolation prize.
Does Barnett get Lorenzen or does Ravnsborg?
Just don’t fight over him too much guys.
Why wouldn’t Mr. Barnett fire every current SOS employee and bring over his own trusted and tested squad of minions?
Anyone who would bring Lorenzen into an office is an idiot.
Barnett will be the 3rd sos in 4 years. It’s on him to make people satisfied and comfortable with him as a candidate. He should hold a policy discussion at convention.
1. Was the new system properly tested in advance of election day?
2. How much experience does BPRO have in regards to election software?
3. Was BPRO available to trouble shoot the system they built?
4. Were state employees properly trained on the software to answer questions?
This system is optional for counties but was created and is maintained by the SOS office.
When things are going wrong the key is good communication. Uncertainty makes people far more angry than bad news. Shantel went into bunker mode. She wouldn’t tell anybody anything. Wouldn’t return phone calls. When she finally did a press release, it was to cast blame rather than answer obvious questions.
Even if she didn’t have the answers, she should have said something like, “Some counties may have precincts open late. I will have more information by X o’clock.”
I would like to hear what Barnett would do in response to this issue.
Questions:
(1) How many hundreds of Pennington County voters were disenfranchised due to the gross incompetence of the Pennington County Auditor’s Office?
(2) There is simply no excuse for not having printed copies of the voter rolls at every polling location available as an immediate backup in the probable event that the computers would fail. Why did this not occur?
(3) Have the failed BPro Inc. computers been returned or thrown into the garbage can?
(4) How many Pennington County Auditor’s Office employees were terminated for cause due to the disenfranchisement of voters?
(5) What date is Julie Pearson resigning? The PennCo voters demand immediate resignation.
Yes, Shantel went into bunker mode. She’s an absolute amateur.
What are “e-poll books” ?
Delegates want to know if she is going to run. If the election for the Secretary of States office is going to be an open race it will be more than just Shantel and Barnett in the running.
I have heard John Teupel is interested is that right?
Teupel would be an interesting candidate.
Or are you saying he wants Krebs to run?
I have not heard that. If he wanted it, he should’ve been talking about it six months ago.
He mentioned it at the Meade Lincoln Day Dinner
He didn’t get very far with it then. John is a nice enough person, but there has to be more follow through if he’s seriously interested. He was talking about running for Congress or Senate at one point several years ago, but that never went beyond a brief mention.
Never been impressed with John Teupel…very quiet and not very outgoing ..non starter
He does have a good first name though 🙂
Ms. Krebs is a bit of a bunker-mode gal. I expect it is likely she panicked. She saw the spectre of Mr. Gant looming over her like the Ghost of Elections Past and she was terrified she would fail.
Krebs isn’t running for anything and no one will be able to see any success in contesting Barnett at convention. You could put out a Sue Peterson or John Teupel, they are good people, but the delegates know Steve at this point. And a majority won’t turn away from supporting him.
The best computers in the world can’t overcome internet connection issues. Ah… PUC is in charge of making sure internet & broadband capabilities are in place. I think RCJournal should put their vitriol elsewhere.
AWJ, you must be kidding. The machines had connectivity problems in eight different counties simultaneously, and you think it’s a decentralized telecom service connectivity issue?
That would be quite a coincidence.
Here is why little quarter is given to Krebs: She made the centerpiece of her Campaign her administration of the SOS office. Then, when her administration comes under attack, she throws others under the bus.
I get how these mistakes happen (bad timing) and how, on a day your future is decided, one can react improperly.
But, it is what it is. Nobody ever forgot Ed Muskie crying or Rudy Giuliani on 9-11. She has an upcoming election and a passing of the torch. How she handles these 6 months can take a lot of the edge off what happened last week.
I think Shantel has proven that she is the best qualified person for the job. If she decides she wants 4 more years she’ll have my vote.
She won’t have mine. SOS was always just a stepping stone for her.
You will not find a greater student of policy than Barnett. His thorough understanding of government is immense and more than impressive.
Barnett will make you forget about Chris Nelson and everyone after. He will be awesome!
I’ve been pondering this a bit. Ms. Krebs has been fairly effective, despite her growing budget and emotional lashing out. What if people wanted to give her another 4 years to cement in the track she’s on? Do you really think there would be a big lashing out? Perhaps she could hire Mr. Barnett as a deputy and have him learn the ropes about elections a bit. It is a subject some might nosh on.
Barnett could benefit from being a hands on deputy learning from the best. This would make the vote for Secretary of State less controversial and give Barnett 4 years to grow.
Who? Not Shantel. She is among the worst.
You can throw around the blame but it’s strange the polling places didn’t have hard copies of the voter registration rolls on hand just in case of a power outage or loss of connection.
It is also odd that they didn’t have provisional ballots available and enough sense to know when to use them.
Did anybody check the restrooms for toilet paper? Did they neglect to stock that, too?
I disagree with Kea on not using provisional ballots. Why else would they exist?
If they have a reason they should explain further.
They need paper lists of voters for back ups and to explain the provisional ballot confusion.
Shantel continues to viciously attack Jason Gant, yet she presided over a snafu for the ages that has the entire political spectrum upset. She will run against Steve Barnett and Barnett will beat her. He is humble and a hard worker, she is mean spirited and arrogant. She managed to drive out Jason Williams and she ran for Congress by trying to out Tapio Tapio. Bad miscalculation.
A little curious. That there was an election coming on june 5 was no suprise, and that the system would need to function without snafus that day. Was the system tested and was the flaw undectable? Also, the news release blaming those counties – is there some other letter or email or something telling them they were taking a risk- or was the Election Day news release by Shantel the first time she, as the head of elections, warned them? Anybody know?
Barnett has served as a Constitutional Officer. He has less need to be mentored than someone who has never served as a Constitutional Officer and as a legislator.
That said, it is an open seat. If Shantel wants to throw her hat in and run against the declared candidate (Barnett), it is her prerogative.
The reason people are speculating about Barnett being challenged 2 weeks before the convention is simple:
As a delegate would you know Barnett is running for something if you didn’t read this blog?
If the answer is no then that’s a concern. If the answer is yes then that is a good sign for him.
The best defense is a good offense. It’s his responsibility to call delegates and send them his policy positions as a candidate. I get that he’s unopposed but all candidates need to earn it.
Why is he running?
What makes him a good candidate?
What policy issues does he think will come up in 2019?
I appreciate candidates articulating their positions and vision for the future.
He will win and go unopposed.
Krebs already knows the office there would be no shame in Barnett being deputy and would be a better situation for him to learn how that office operates.
Barnett will go unopposed. He has much to learn and he should share his vision and policy positions at convention. He has my support. I’d like to hear more from him about policy though.