Show notes
Leah Anderson is the Minnehaha County Auditor, the official who runs elections in South Dakota's largest county. She was elected in 2022 and took office in 2023. This conversation was recorded about a week after the Nov. 5, 2024 general election, when Minnehaha County was the last county in the state to finish counting: final results were posted shortly after 3 p.m. the next day, about 20 hours after the polls closed. Anderson pointed to nearly 30,000 absentee ballots, overseas ballots that had to be recreated by hand, and limited space, and at the county canvass on Nov. 8 she proposed ending in-person absentee voting before the Monday ahead of Election Day and asked for more room to process ballots.
Update (Oct. 2026): Anderson says she "was successful in implementing changes and passing state legislation to improve absentee processing and election results reporting for the 2026 election season," and counties may now begin processing absentee ballots the day before Election Day (ballots still can't be counted until the polls close). She won the June 2, 2026 Republican primary over Samuel McCarty, 12,814 votes to 4,725, and faces Democrat Curt Deedrich in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. Her office ran the first public test of its tabulators on Oct. 20 and is testing them through Election Day morning. (Sources are linked below.)
More on Making Waves
Leah Anderson, Minnehaha County Auditor (Jan. 4, 2024): https://daveroetman.substack.com/p/leah-anderson-minnehaha-county-auditor-47a
About the guest
Minnehaha County Auditor/Elections Office: https://www.minnehahacounty.gov/dept/au/au.php
Leah G. Anderson (Ballotpedia, 2026 candidate page): https://ballotpedia.org/Leah_G._Anderson_(Minnehaha_County_Auditor,_South_Dakota,_candidate_2026)
The 2024 count
Frustration mounts over wait for Minnehaha County's election results (South Dakota Searchlight, Nov. 6, 2024): https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/11/06/frustration-mounts-over-wait-for-minnehaha-countys-election-results/
Minnehaha County auditor defends counting delays, proposes restrictions on absentee ballots (South Dakota Searchlight, Nov. 8, 2024): https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2024/11/08/minnehaha-county-auditor-election-defends-counting-delays-proposes-restrictions-absentee-ballots/
Why did it take so long to get results in Minnehaha County? (Sioux Falls Simplified, Nov. 8, 2024): https://www.sfsimplified.com/why-did-it-take-so-long-to-get-results-in-minnehaha-county/
Update sources
Anderson, Deedrich ask for votes in Minnehaha County Auditor race (Garretson Gazette, Oct. 22, 2026): https://www.garretsongazette.com/anderson-deedrich-ask-for-votes-in-minnehaha-county-auditor-race/
More South Dakotans now vote early (South Dakota News Watch, Sept. 16, 2026): https://www.sdnewswatch.org/south-dakota-early-absentee-mail-in-voting-2026-election/
Official results, June 2, 2026 primary (Minnehaha County): https://web.minnehahacounty.gov/dept/au/election/electionReturns/26primary.php
County auditors test accuracy of tabulation machines (Dakota News Now/KOTA, Oct. 20, 2026): https://www.kotatv.com/2026/10/21/county-auditors-test-accuracy-tabulation-machines/
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