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State Voter Data App Links to Krebs Campaign Facebook Page

Pat Powers has it out for Shantel Krebs, who ousted his old and incompetent patron Jason Gant from the Secretary of State’s office in the 2014 election cycle. Powers has also worked for the campaign of Krebs’s opponent in the U.S. House race, Dusty Johnson.

But Powers gets a genuine scoop on a possible violation of campaign law by Krebs. He reports that Vote605, the Secretary of State’s official app for checking voter registration and polling places, offers a link that directs users to Krebs’s campaign Facebook page.

The home screen of the Vote605 app offers three buttons: search for voter, Facebook, and Twitter.

Vote605 app, home screen, Facebook link highlighted, screen cap 2017.07.07.
Vote605 app, home screen, Facebook link highlighted, screen cap 2017.07.07.

This morning when I tap on the Vote605 Facebook button, the app sends me to Shantel Krebs’s campaign Facebook page, where the first thing I see is her profile icon reading, “Shantel Krebs—Congress“:

Screen cap of my Open Apps screen, showing Vote605 app heading with app displaying Shantel Krebs's campaign Facebook page (highlighted), 2017.07.07.
Screen cap of my Open Apps screen, showing Vote605 app heading with app displaying Shantel Krebs’s campaign Facebook page (highlighted), 2017.07.07.

Now interestingly, federal election law exempts providing without charge a link to a website from reporting requirements, so the Federal Election Commission may not have a hammer to drop on Krebs. However, the state campaign finance laws for which the Secretary of State bears some enforcement responsibility may make this app-campaign linkage illegal. South Dakota Codified Law 12-27-20 says, “The state, an agency of the state, and the governing body of any county, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state may not expend or permit the expenditure of public funds for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any candidate….” Vote605 was created by a state office with state funds. Using that public resource to give users a link to one candidate’s political page serves the purpose of influencing the nomination and election of that candidate. That Facebook link on the Vote605 app thus appears to violate state campaign finance law.

9 Comments

  1. Daniel Buresh 2017-07-07 14:56

    The comments from Pat Power’s minions are priceless. I would guess this was nothing more than an oversight which will ultimately be exploited to the point that it is blatant corruption and collusion….lol Too bad these clowns don’t scream this loud when their buddies are robbing the piggy bank. Pat is sure acting like he sees this as a simple mistake but you can tell he wants to fan the flames and let his commenters do the dirty work. They went as far as suggesting resignation….haha. Even with a few mistakes, another one as simple as this, Kreb’s has done a lot more for this state than team Gant and Powers ever did.

  2. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2017-07-08 07:45

    Daniel, Pat’s follow-up post makes clear he doesn’t want us to see this as a simple mistake. He (and likely his patron, Dusty Johnson) is enjoying seeing this story work through the mainstream press. He’s portraying Krebs’s explanations as insufficient and confusing.

    I also agree that Krebs and her staff have been far more effective at carrying out the duties of this office than Jason Gant and Pat Powers were. Gant and Powers used their office for personal gain, and Powers had to resign from that office.

    But I will also contend that Krebs was in effect using the Vote605 app for personal political gain and deserves heat.

    As Powers mentions, however, she apparently didn’t get much gain. That link has been there since Krebs announced for U.S. House, and no one has made a fuss until now. That sends a signal about how many people use the app and how many bother to tap the social media links on it.

  3. Porter Lansing 2017-07-08 07:55

    1. Pat Powers deals in political artifacts.
    2. The original state flag disappears … on his watch.
    3. Pat Powers somehow knows who did it and convinces the perp to return it?
    4. No investigation into the collusion of the two males involved, ensues.
    Shady business, Yosemite!!

  4. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2017-07-08 14:36

    Shady business? Porter, should Secretary Krebs check the Vote605 app and the SOS server for backdoors left by the Gant administration?

  5. grudznick 2017-07-08 14:38

    We should elect Mr. H to be the State Secretary after Jabba the Gant and the shoe lady have done all this.

    Then, when Mr. H’s minions make a little mistake, we will see what Mr. PP posts.

  6. Porter Lansing 2017-07-08 15:45

    Speaking of computers … I didn’t mention that soon after the flag was returned, DWC and Powers’ personal hard drives were wiped and subsequently replaced. Luckily there’s a copy … in Trump’s office. Pat, Nelson and Trump are foolishly similar. They can’t create a cover-up and diversion without telling everyone about it. LOL 😂 Maybe M.J. gets some free yard signs and pens with his picture on ’em?

  7. Porter Lansing 2017-07-08 16:32

    BTW (by the way), Grudzie … Midnight Miranda says you’ve got all the liberal’s goats. That girl’s an expert on cloven hooved horny creatures , huh? Take good care of the one with the bell. She’s special. I call her Randy. 🐐

  8. grudznick 2017-07-08 17:57

    The mainstream media is saying Mr. PP “Blasted a homer off young Ms. Krebs.” The statcasting they showed on TV said it left the bat at 118 mph and landed in Mr. Gant’s back yard.

  9. Porter Lansing 2017-07-08 18:35

    Impressive, Mr. Grudzie. Statcasting is a new thing in baseball. I watch a game every day. You a Twins fan or a Rockies fan? Not a Yankees fan, I hope.

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