PIERRE, SD (KELO) — Monae Johnson says she will not resign as South Dakota Secretary of State.
Johnson won election to office in 2022, running on a platform of electoral integrity. Last month, during a contentious meeting of the state Board of Elections, several proponents of manual vote counting criticized the performance of his office.
Rick Weible, who describes himself as an election integrity expert, called for the resignation of Johnson, his deputy Thomas Deadrick and board members.
Johnson did not respond during the meeting. This week, he issued a point-by-point response during a public hearing on proposed rule changes for notaries public, and in a written statement to KELOLAND News, he said none of them are leaving. She chairs the board.
“South Dakota Canvassing’s claims, accusations and half-truths do not warrant any of us to resign,” Johnson said.
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“The last three and a half years have been extremely tough on election officials in South Dakota and the nation. South Dakota alone has 1/3 new auditors, and this trend is happening across the country,” she continued. “My office works hard with county auditors to ensure South Dakota has secure, accurate and transparent elections. Just because someone claims there was fraud doesn’t mean there was. The misinformation that is being spread is a shame.”
South Dakota law requires that six of the board’s seven members be appointed by the Legislature. Two members are county auditors and must belong to a different political party registry; the president of the House appoints them. Each of the Democratic and Republican leaders of the four legislative groups appoints one member.
The board establishes rules for the conduct of elections in South Dakota and can provide recommendations to the secretary of state regarding changes to state election laws.
Earlier this week, South Dakota Canvassing published a comment from Gary Meyer questioning the motivation for how KELOLAND reported the meeting.
Scott McGregor, a Democratic appointee from Rapid City, explained why he plans to continue serving on the board.
“I have been on the board since February 2023. I was previously on the board for eight years, from 1991 to 1999,” McGregor wrote in an email. “As explained in some detail at the board meeting on May 29, Mr. Weible submitted claims upon which the board was authorized to act, as explained in open session by the board’s attorney. He mischaracterized his claims as requests for declaratory judgment, which he was not. The Electoral Board is an administrative body, not a policy-making body.”
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