Call for U.S. Dept of Justice Investigation Against South Dakota Officials

I’m not going to call South Dakota a corrupt state. I’m going to let Forbes do it for me.

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That disregard for the U.S. Constitution just allowed the South Dakota Attorney General to PROSECUTE a woman who petitioned the state to be included on the ballot.

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Once Dr. Annette Bosworth secured her appropriate signatures, she signed them and sent them in. BUT OUR FREEDOM TO PETITION RIGHT IS IN JEOPARDY because Dr. Bosworth signed six of OVER 100 pages that claimed she witness each signature.

The PURPOSE of an election petition is to get on the ballot in order to affect laws and redress unfair practices. But in South Dakota, the GOP and the DEMS want to keep out anyone that challenges their power structure. Enter, Cory Heidelberger, self-professed “journalist” who got copies of Dr. Bosworth’s petitions from the Secretary of State, posted them on his blog with each registered voter’s name and address who signed to get her on the ballot and asked a mob to investigate the voters:

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Over 100 comments on voters. When one felt intimidated by this violation of federal law, he was intimidated again:

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The mob and the AG would settle on investigating the signatures of the Hutterites, a devoutly, religious group that votes in blocks based on elder designations. Their signatures were the first to be targeted:

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And even the investigator chosen by the Attorney General focused on the easy target:

He looked up colony members who were registered Republicans, printed their names and addresses, and in about 11 cases, also signed their names on the petitions, Waldner said. “I did it in good faith of my people,” he said. He also gave the petitions to others to sign their own names and the petition from is colony shown in court Thursday had 20 names on it.

 Bosworth was not present at the colony when the petitions were signed, he said.

Under cross-examination by Bosworth’s attorney, Robert Van Norman, Waldner said he had been the minister and corporation president of the colony for 30 years, which is why his people trusted him to sign for them. Waldner also acknowledged to Van Norman he has been granted immunity from prosecution by Attorney General Marty Jackley for forging other people’s names on the Bosworth nominating petitions.

 “Dr. Annette Bosworth didn’t ask you to sign someone else’s name, did she?” Van Norman asked.

“No, she didn’t,” Waldner said.

Bosworth told a radio talk show host last year she thought because the signature collection was done under her direction, she was the circulator even though she didn’t witness every signature. It’s one of the mistakes she made as a rookie candidate, Hanna told the jury. The bigger mistake was relying on Arends’ touted expertise on petitions, Hanna said.

Dr. Bosworth was found guilty of signing the six pages without being in attendance. She was also found guilty and submitting them to the Secretary of State. 12 Felonies, 25 years in prison.

Someone needs to read the First Amendment. Maybe South Dakota will earn the top spot as most corrupt state government.

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