South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley said the Division of Criminal Investigation reviewed discrepancies involving Edmunds County commission candidate Juliane Burgod’s nominating petition and her owner-occupied property-tax status.
The matter was referred to the Attorney General’s Office by Edmunds County State’s Attorney Vaughn Beck, who reported that the address listed on Burgod’s candidate petition appeared to conflict with the address associated with her owner-occupied tax classification.
Under South Dakota law, county commission candidates must be registered to vote in the district where they are seeking nomination.
Jackley said DCI’s role was limited to determining whether a false or forged document may have been filed in connection with an election. The agency completed its review and forwarded its findings to the South Dakota Department of Revenue for consideration of the property’s owner-occupied tax status.
Beck requested DCI’s involvement because of a potential conflict of interest should Burgod serve on the county commission.
Jackley said the investigation was unrelated to any agricultural project or policy dispute and was focused solely on election-document issues. He said preserving confidence in the state’s election process was the reason for DCI’s involvement.
Neither the Attorney General’s Office nor DCI has a pending action against Burgod. State officials said the remaining issue appears to involve the owner-occupied tax classification rather than election fraud and therefore falls under the Department of Revenue’s jurisdiction.
By: Montana Newsroom News Wire