Date of Award
Spring 5-10-2025
Document Type
Honors Thesis
Department/Major
Political Science
First Advisor
Julia Hellwege
Second Advisor
David Earnest
Third Advisor
Gary Sokolow
Keywords
Post-Election Audits, Election Integrity, Elections, South Dakota
Subject Categories
American Politics | Election Law | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation | Policy History, Theory, and Methods | Public Policy
Abstract
Post-election audits have been a standard practice for election officials across much of the United States since the 2000 presidential election. However, there were still six states that had never performed a post-election audit as the nation prepared for the 2020 presidential election. Due to the controversies of the 2020 presidential election and the resulting decrease in voter confidence, particularly among Republican voters, there was a concerted effort in the few remaining states to pass legislation that would require election officials to conduct post-election audits. In response to this pressure, South Dakota passed a law to require that election officials verify the state’s election results by conducting post-election audits in 2023. These new post-election audits were then conducted for the first time following the 4 June 2024 statewide primary election and the 5 November 2024 statewide general election. The purpose of this study is to reveal and analyze the findings of South Dakota’s new post-election audits, identify any problems that might exist with them, and propose specific reforms to address the problems that are identified. By doing so, this study will help develop a better understanding of post-election audits in general and provide greater insight into post-election audit reforms that could prove beneficial for other states as well.
Recommended Citation
Sippel, Evan, "Restoring Confidence in Our Elections: An Analysis of Post-Election Audits in South Dakota" (2025). Honors Thesis. 351.
https://red.library.usd.edu/honors-thesis/351
Included in
American Politics Commons, Election Law Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Public Policy Commons
