Voting accusations fly in reservation areas

Early voting in Indian Country has not gone smoothly in at least two counties, prompting accusations of voter intimidation and voter suppression.

In Shannon County, there also have been accusations that voters were being coerced in who to vote for.

On Thursday, voting rights organization Four Directions filed a complaint with Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office alleging that Shannon County’s early polling place in Pine Ridge was inadequate and that the Shannon County sheriff had been called to intimidate voters.

Four Directions officials were upset that the early polling place in Pine Ridge was set up in a small entryway. After complaints to Secretary of State Jason Gant, a new, larger polling place was found Thursday.

Bret Healy, a spokesman for Four Directions, complimented Gant for personally investigating and finding a new location.

“This was a public official doing the public’s business in a very admirable way,” Healy said.

But Healy said the presence of Shannon County Sheriff Jim Daggett at the polling place was intimidating voters. Daggett visited the site last Friday and again Monday, and Healy said his presence would “chill” voter turnout.

“We had voters spook away from using the satellite office because word gets out that there is non-Indian law enforcement,” Healy said.

Daggett said he had to go because he received a complaint from Fall River County Auditor Sue Ganje that Four Directions employees were telling voters who to cast ballots for. Fall River County contracts with Shannon County to run elections.

Ganje, Daggett said, received a complaint from a Shannon County commissioner that voters were being coerced. “It’s a bona fide complaint,” he said.

Daggett said he was there only 10 minutes Oct. 17 and stopped again Monday.

Healy denied that his group was coercing voters. “We play by the rules,” he said.

Jackley said Thursday that his office had received the complaints, but he said that law enforcement can be called to polling places if there are legal concerns.

“Obviously, we need to review them to determine what, if any, action would be necessary and appropriate from our office,” Jackley said.

In Buffalo County, commissioners there have refused to set up an early voting center in Fort Thompson, which is predominantly Indian. That means residents there have to drive 26 miles to Gann Valley to cast early ballots.

Commissioners last year said they would establish an early voting center in Fort Thompson if they could do so using Help America Vote Act money. Elaine Wulff, Buffalo County’s auditor, said the county has about $20,000 in HAVA money.

But Wulff said the commissioners didn’t want to use the county’s HAVA funds, but instead wanted to use state HAVA funds. When the state funds weren’t available, the commission decided not to open an early vote center in Fort Thompson.

“We’re really short of funds, and we could not afford it,” Wulff said, adding that it would cost the county about $200 a day.

But Healy said the county was treating its allotment of HAVA money as if it belonged to the county. He also criticized the commission for “changing the benchmark after the fact,” and he said the commissioners were not the type of people he would trust to buy cattle from.

“They said they would do this. They are now reneging on that commitment,” he said.