South Dakota Democratic Party runs afoul of fed election rules

Financial problems with the South Dakota Democratic Party are up before the Federal Election Commission.

The commission unanimously approved a memorandum from the audit division that found three violations by the state party.

Auditors found that the South Dakota Democratic Party understated financial disbursements by $2.5 million for a two-year period ending in 2016. Most of that money was transferred to the Democratic National Committee.

The commission found the party took contributions from unregistered organizations and understated debts and obligations to vendors totaling $46,000.

In response to the report, the South Dakota Democratic Party said it overlooked filing procedures and said there was no intent to understate disbursements. The party also said it would refund impermissible contributions.

The audit report says the party filed amended reports to disclose debt obligations but claims those reports were done incorrectly.