Last updated on 2013.01.11
With all but eight precincts reporting, Democrat Barack Obama may win a historic victory in South Dakota, leading the South Dakota presidential race by 224 votes over the surprising second-place Constitution Party Goode-Clymer ticket. In the U.S. House race, incumbent Kristi Noem clings to a 310-vote lead over challenger Matt Varilek...
...or so you would conclude from the state's official election results website, where Secretary of State Jason Gant is apparently conducting software tests out in the open:
Also leading in Sec. Gant's dry run are Libertarian Public Utilities Commission candidate Russell Clarke and current PUC member Chris Nelson. Gant obviously harbors no hard feelings toward his superior predecessor.
Expect recounts in all races.
The test also has both referred laws losing, but the IM winning.
I would assume this reflects the voting preferences of the programmers.
Richard, or the incompetence of Sec. Gant. Good grief get your computer bugs worked out behind closed doors.
The C.A.S.H. system Gant has set up for the reporting of campaign financial information is also full of bugs and is entirely unworkable. Every candidate I talked to ended up downloading and printing off the paper forms and mailing them in. So much for the 21st Century.
You said it all, Nick, re the blasted C.A.S.H. system. I submitted a PAC campaign finance report on the 23 OCT 2012, w/an end balance of $89.29. This weekend I went online to view my report (and I did not use the C.A.S.H. system for my report), the SOS version said my PAC received $31,500, and had an end balance of $23,089.29!! I was totally shocked. Then, when I got online this morning, the report was still in huge error. I finally had to contact the AG's office to find out what on earth is going on w/Gant and his techno prowess. When the SOS tried to correct it, I checked my report again at 10:26 MDT today - the report had even more errors on it than the first go-round. I am very peeved to say the least.
Nick, Kati, those are problems! We count on this system for public accountability. When Pierre provides an unusable system, Pierre is wasting our money. When someone in Pierre fouls up your data, someone creates the potential for unwarranted negative press that redounds on your campaign right before the election.
Oh, and for any fellow San Francisco Giants fans out there (and I am a Giants addict), you know all about Romo-bombing; well, I've been Gant-bombed.
It's a good thing we're paying attention; we apparently reminded Gant to delete the test data. When I got home from work, the election results were back to zero.
So Mr. Gant can delete election results, and he planted the seeds that Mr. Nemec is going to lose. That is very interesting. I wonder who designed the election computer on the internet to do that. Evil computer geniuses I am sure.
Mr. Nemec, I will fight to keep the thought in my brain when I vote that your election is not over.
One look at Gant's face on those sites speaks wordless volumes concerning the seriousness with which one ought to take this stuff.
If you do not want two more years of total confusion and mayhem in the important office - ask your elected representatives who are elected next week to join in an impeachment of Mr. Gant - he is now impeachable under articles I and III of the SD Constitution.
Mr Stan
Spread that word at caucus, Stan!
Mr Stan, I will do just that. His self promoting grin on that web page sealed my view.