A commenter gets me wondering just what the deadlines are for submitting nominating petitions for the 2014 primary in South Dakota. Answer: March 25, 5 p.m.
I found that date by paging through South Dakota Codified Law to statute 12-6-4. I enjoy my almost daily trips through our law books (and I deeply appreciate the Legislative Research Council's accurate posting of those laws online). But it's usually a lot easier just to go to the Secretary of State's Upcoming Elections page and look at the handy-dandy election calendar...
...easier, that is, when the Secretary of State's Upcoming Elections page has been updated with information about the upcoming elections. I check the SOS website this morning and find Secretary Jason Gant asleep at the switch again:
Five months after the 2012 general election, and you still can't get a 2014 election calendar from the Secretary of State's website.
Thinking about the 2014 election in April 2013 isn't just sport for blogospheric hullaballooists. Foresightful candidates may well be looking ahead and planning their work schedules to accommodate their public plans. Committees may be getting ready to launch petition drives to place initiatives on the 2014 ballot. Those citizens seeking to place names and laws on that ballot expect the Secretary of State to provide quick and easy access to that information.
But five months later, Secretary Gant is apparently still too tuckered out from the 2012 election to do more than post a few Tweets a month, trundle down to the country club in Yankton to speak to the Rotarians, and make plans for Lincoln Day dinners.
Do your job, Secretary Gant. People count on you for information. That information should have been up five months ago. Get it done.
Cory, did you call the Sec of State's office and ask why the delay?
The prior officeholder ran the office far more efficiently, more responsively, and in a non-partisan manner. I miss just having everything operate the way it should in that office.
Why should taxpayers have call the SoS office to ask why he isn't doing his job? If there's a legitimate reason for the delay, don't you think Gant would post an explanation on his web page?
As ole Denny will not make Gnat do his job, maybe Stan can shame him into or scare him into doing it. These new republicans sure are a lazy bunch. The only work they seem to tolerate is when one of their own notarizes there own signature unlawfully.
To think, people used to walk their lazy asses down to their local gov't buildings and find out. I don't even want to think what 7 digits on a phone would do. Oh the horror. Maybe it's the fact that the state is dying for computer pros. Maybe these programmers are tied up doing more important things than static content that can be found at any gov't building. You guys need to find something worthy of bitching about instead of showing how lazy you really are.
Maybe we should bitch about cars.
let's bitch about voter suppression or how corrupt Pierre is.
let's bitch about how people don't walk anymore from Wall to Rapid City to read the results of elections on the original cuniform tablets.
Larry, you should stick to topics you know about.
"I am endeavoring, ma'am, to construct a mnemonic memory circuit using stone knives and bear skins."
Maybe you can buy the 2014 election calendar from the Dakota Campaign Store website?
Yeah, b/c a system to save the state money, or a system that optimizes services that all taxpayers will utilize is less important than one to please the handful of people who will even look at the calendar. It's called priorities and this isn't one. Keep on rambling Larry.
The state's priorities include trafficking in Native children.
Good, they might have a chance at a real life then.
well played, white supremacist.
Just playing into your racism. NATIVE PRIDE!!
Oh yeah: the State of South Dakota has been so great to the tribes.
Part of Gant's foot-dragging is to stall SDGOP's abominable election results in Indian Country.
There's nobody in the SoS office that can update SoS's upcoming elections page?
I don't know jack about doing anything with hperlinks that aren't pre-coded like a word document, but it took me less than 3 minutes to write this post with a link. The SoS has the resources to update the page. It should have been done long before this.
I have to get a cup of coffee with what's left of my 24 minute lunch break
Our neighbors have the luxury of living in states where the SoS cares about voters:
http://sos.iowa.gov/elections/electioninfo/general/index.html
http://www.sos.ne.gov/dyindex.html#boxingName
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=619
How about this: Stephanie waits until January to file for the Senate race without huge fan fare like Thune did back in 2004. Then, like Thune did, she keeps silent for 6 months and all the voters wondering when she will really start campaigning and then, like Thune she jumps into campaign mode about June of 2014.
I liked that Thune waited so long to go into full campaign mode. It made for a short campaign against Dashcle (about 6 months) of hearing about it. If Stephanie were to do the same thing, we would not have to be bombarded with campaign commercials for a year and a half. We need shorter campaigns because many people, like myself, are wore-out on these long campaign periods.
Ah, G-Man, I can see the merits to that plan. Of course, she can't do that if anyone else declares; the best she can do is the Noem thing where she waits until February. By your thinking, G, does the Draft Johnson stuff hurt Brendan by making campaign noise so early? And similarly, does Rounds' Nov. 2012 announcement put him at risk of tiring out listeners?
DB, if Sec. Gant gave us the excuse you propose, even the Republicans might help drum him out of office. Welcome to the new world, where yes, we citizens do rightfully expect information faster and more easily available. The tech is here, and as Kal Lis points out, it's not hard to use. As David points out, other states are on top of it. No excuses, Jason: update that page!
Yes Cory, I believe Rounds will wear out voters if he's too aggresive in reminding them that he is running. I don't know about how successful the Draft Brenden Campaign will be, but......there's another option for Stephanie if Brenden were to become the nominee......ah huh...
I'm starting to think Gant will not have much opposition at the convention and if he makes it through the convention the Democrats will need a strong candidate to challenge him. I'm not sure who that is. Especially when they need Senate, House and Governor candidates.
If the Democrats want to get a foot hold in state government again, then, they really need to win the highly coveted Secretary of State's office.
you're post got results thought. All the 2014 election information is now on the SOS website.
Holy cow! Thanks for noticing, Elisa!
Other than political scheming, nothing happens at the SOS office these days until someone complains.