SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — More than a dozen county auditors are inviting state lawmakers to an informational forum. The auditors want to make sure the people who make our state laws have a full understanding of election security measures already in place.

The county auditors came up with the idea of holding an open forum meeting with lawmakers because they believe they are getting false information when it comes to South Dakota elections. A group of county auditors led by Charles Mix County Auditor and former Secretary of State Jason Gant and Lincoln County auditor Sherry Lund will hold an open house forum. They want to address points in a letter 24 lawmakers sent to Governor Kristi Noem. It calls for the release of information from voting machines and calls the integrity of South Dakota’s 2020 election into question.

“I think there’s been a disconnect as to what people are hearing and what is actual so we are just going to get that clarified.

What’s the disconnect?

“I think there, without going into too much of the letter, is stuff in the letter that isn’t actual.”

Lund, who will host the event feels South Dakota elections are very secure.

“We’ve got a lot of security in place. We do testing on the machines before the election, which is open to the public,” said Lund. “Just little check marks that we probably don’t think about every day.”

Bottom line is that the auditors want to make sure the people making laws have access to the information they need and lines of communication that can help them weed through false or misleading information that is landing on their desks.

The open house forum is scheduled for September 8th in the Lincoln County Commission chambers in Canton.

Today, Governor Kristi Noem sent a letter to the South Dakota State Legislature, thanking them for their continued emphasis on free and fair elections in South Dakota.