Commissioners approve canvass of 2026 primary and draw precincts for post‑election audit

The Codington County Board of Commissioners on June 4 formally canvassed and approved the results of the 2026 primary election and completed a public draw to select the precincts and races for the required post‑election audit.

The chair thanked county staff, the auditor's office, precinct workers and volunteers for a smooth election. Brenda (auditor) said everything went well at precinct locations and noted volunteer assistance such as local Boy Scouts helping move ballot boxes.

County staff read precinct‑level tallies across the county for multiple races (U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative, governor, state senate and state representative contests). After the reading, a motion to approve the official canvas was made and the board voted to approve the canvas certificates; commissioners signed the certificates.

On item 10, Brenda explained that a state law requires a post‑election audit that must include at least one federal race. She described the public drawing process: the board first draws a race, then draws precincts until the selected precincts collectively contain at least 100 ballots, and then conducts a hand count to compare to tabulator totals. The county scheduled the audit for June 15 at 10:00 a.m.

Brenda noted that a prior hand count had been out of alignment with tabulator totals and that staff subsequently located the discrepancy; she said the audit is a checks‑and‑balances measure. Commissioners completed the draw, confirmed the selected precincts met the 100‑ballot threshold, and directed staff to proceed with the June 15 audit.