Noem campaign questions legality of feed, rally

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The manager of Kristi Noem’s congressional campaign said Democratic campaign feeds planned for today in two tribal locations are illegal, but Democrats denied the allegation.

Noem’s opponent, Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, DS.D., is scheduled to appear with other Democratic candidates, including gubernatorial candidate Scott Heidepriem, at free feeds and “early vote” rallies in Lower Brule and Fort Thompson this afternoon.

According to Herseth Sandlin’s weekly media report, rally attendees “will be encouraged to utilize available volunteer transport to travel to their polling place” and vote early after the rally.

On Tuesday, another feed and early vote rally was held in Pine Ridge. Campaign literature said attendees “will cast their votes at the old IHS hospital” after the rally.

“We can only assume this is gross incompetence by Congresswoman Herseth-Sandlin (sic) or it is a flagrant, intentional violation of state and federal law,” said Joshua Shields, Noem’s campaign manager.

The executive director of the South Dakota Democratic Party denied the allegations and said there is nothing illegal about the events.

She said the events are designed to increase voter turnout numbers on reservations while celebrating American Indian candidates such as former Crow Creek tribal chairman Brandon Sazue, a Democratic state Senate candidate from Fort Thompson.

“It’s more of a candidate celebration of our local candidates,” said Erin McCarrick, the state Democratic executive director. “We’re so proud of our Native American candidates.”

McCarrick said the distribution of food at campaign rallies held on reservations is designed to corre- spond with Indian culture.

“If you talk to someone on the reservation, they say, ‘If you want people to come and listen to something, have a feed,’ ” McCarrick said Wednesday. “It’s just to get voting to be more acceptable to reservation areas.”

A 1998 letter from then-Attorney General Mark Barnett and then-U.S. Attorney Karen Schreier addressed to county auditors and political parties said state law “does not allow a person, political party, or any other entity to offer any item of value in exchange for voting” at or near polling places.

“It is important that everyone understand that the law does not require that the offering of a meal, money, gifts, or whatever, be in exchange for voting a certain way or for a certain party,” the letter read. “Simply offering to provide these items of value, in exchange for showing up to vote, is clearly against the law.”

South Dakota law states it is a Class 2 misdemeanor for any person to “pay, lend, contribute, or offer or promise to pay, lend or contribute, any money or other valuable consideration to or for any voter or to or for any other person, to induce such voter to vote.

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South Dakota Secretary of State Chris Nelson said it is illegal to offer voters “anything of value to encourage them to vote,” but he did not know if today’s events specifically violate state law.

A representative from the Federal Election Commission declined an interview, saying the office does not comment on specific cases.

McCarrick said there is no obligation by feed attendees to vote early. She said 100 voters were transported to the polls during Tuesday’s event.

She encouraged Republicans to throw similar events in hopes of increasing overall voter turnout on reservations.

“The turnout on reservations is 30 percent. That’s abysmal,” McCarrick said. “It’s so hard to mobilize voters. Let’s get some people to vote.”

Tags: election 2010, kristi noem, stephanie herseth sandlin, native americans, american indians, our towns, fort thompson, crow creek, crow creek sioux tribe, news, state, politics, fccnetwork, indians