PINE RIDGE, S.D. – Election polls looked a little like an American Bar
Association convention on the Pine Ridge Reservation, but the result was a
clean and uneventful election process.

This was unlike the June 1 primary and special election where the photo ID
requirement was first used and accusations of intimidation of American
Indian voters by the Republican controlled state legislature ensued.

It was also different than the 2002 election where accusations of fraud
were leveled against the reservations by Republican Party officials. They
resurrected those allegations in campaign literature during this election
process.

Two lawsuits were filed on Election Day eve. One was filed by Tom Daschle’s
campaign that accused the Republicans of intimidating pre-Election Day
voters on the Yankton Reservation by following American Indian voters from
the polls and recording their license plate numbers.

Thune’s campaign manager said it was a desperate move by Daschle. An appeal
is likely, but the day after the election saw no appeal taking place.

Another lawsuit against Republicans occurred on the Pine Ridge Reservation
on Nov. 1 when people allegedly hired by the Republican Party videotaped
may pre-Election Day voters when they exited the polling location. Court
orders were issued that prevented the Republican Party from videotaping
near the polling locations.

During the election process, election officials were very accommodating to
voters that did not have a photo ID by quickly pulling out an affidavit as
a substitute. It was not like the June 1 primary where many people walked
away from the polls for lack of an ID, according to signed affidavits.

At the Porcupine District where there are 900 registered voters, seven
attorneys were present to observe the process. Vehicles traveled all over
the reservation helping people get to the polls.

The only excitement came when two television stations were asked by tribal
police to leave the polling place with their cameras. A ruling about news
reporters allowed the cameras to return to film only general views; no
filming of voters in the booth and the reporters were not allowed to speak
with the voters at the polling location.

Bret Healy, executive director of Four Directions, a non-profit,
non-partisan Get Out the Vote organization said the organization’s people
at various poll locations told him there were no major problems.

A blow to many American Indian voters in South Dakota was the victory of
John Thune over Sen. Tom Daschle. Daschle was a friend of Indian country in
South Dakota and elsewhere and he campaigned heavily on the reservations.

Pine Ridge returned the favor with an overwhelming majority of votes for
Daschle. Daschle received 87 percent of the vote from Shannon County on the
Pine Ridge Reservation; Thune gathered 13 percent.

Todd County, seat of the Rosebud Reservation gave Daschle 79 percent of the
vote; Thune won 17 percent. Corson County, one of the counties that is part
of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, sent Daschle 63 percent of the
vote to Thune’s 37 percent.

Bennett County, between the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservations that is
home to a large American Indian population gave Daschle 56 percent of the
vote.

Counties that did not have a large American Indian population gave the
larger percentage of their vote to Thune.

Rep. Stephanie Herseth, who defeated challenger Republican Larry Diedrich
to the lone congressional seat in the state received substantial support
from the reservations. Herseth campaigned frequently on the reservations
and on the final day before the election she made a sweep through Pine
Ridge and Rosebud.

Shannon County favored Herseth with 90 percent of the vote. Todd County on
the Rosebud Reservation favored Herseth by 79 percent; Corson County on
Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation collected 61 percent; Dewey County turned
in 75 percent; Buffalo County, the home of the Crow Creek Reservation
contributed 81 percent for Herseth and Ziebach County on the Standing Rock
Reservation handed in 71 percent.

Voting numbers were high on all reservations. On Pine Ridge the voter turn
out for the state and federal election was 58 percent, a high percentage by
Pine Ridge standards. The Oglala Sioux Tribe also held tribal elections on
the same day.

STATE LEGISLATURE

Three of the four American Indian legislators retained their seats. Michael
LaPointe, Republican state senator from Rosebud was defeated in bid to
retain his position by Teresa “Huck” Two Bulls from Pine Ridge. Two Bulls
is a former tribal secretary and vice president. She lost in a bid in the
primary for the presidency two years ago. LaPointe was appointed by Gov.
Mike Rounds to the seat following the death of long-time Democratic
Legislator Dick Hagen. LaPointe was never elected to the legislature.

Rep. Tom VanNorman, Lakota, Cheyenne River, was re-elected, as was Jim
Bradford, Pine Ridge, from District 27 and Paul Valandra, Rosebud, District
27. The only challenger was Bruce Whalen, Pine Ridge.

Districts 27 and 26 are the focus of a lawsuit that found the state guilty
of violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The state legislative executive
committee decided to keep the districts the same, even after U.S. District
Court Judge Karen Schreier ordered the state to submit a comprehensive
plan.

The state will ask Judge Schreier to clarify her order and for the State
Supreme Court to become involved. The state high court denied a request
from the state attorney general’s office to get involved earlier.