Ahead of Ravnsborg impeachment trial, South Dakota GOP convention registration hit by spam attack

The South Dakota Republican Party has had to remove hundreds of fake names of registrants to the party's convention following a spam attack.

The attack occurred on the party's online registration page, where hundreds of fake names were filled out as delegates to the convention, which runs from June 23-25. The spammers also maxed out the 28 spots that had been reserved for press credentials, forcing the party to close down press registrations.

In order to deter spammers from persisting to register as delegates, the party is forcing them to pay $1 to register. GOP Chairman Dan Lederman said that delegates will be reimbursed when they go to the convention. By law, he said, the party can't charge money because it would constitute a "poll tax."

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Delegates will choose nominees for several constitutional offices to run in the general election in November. The convention is drawing more interest this year because of the attorney general's race and the controversy surrounding Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and his impeachment by the South Dakota House of Representatives.

Ravnsborg faces a Senate impeachment trial two days before the convention starts for his actions in the death of a pedestrian north of Highmore.

Lederman said his staff had to remove about 400 fake names. He added that they weren't even funny names.

"It's just been an annoyance," he said.

He also said he doesn't know the origins of the orchestrated attack.

"At this point, I'm not even going to pursue it," he said.

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Berk Ehrmantraut, the executive director of the Democratic Party, said he understands the frustration because he is dealing with his own headaches of getting his party's convention ready. Democrats will meet in Fort Pierre on July 8-9 to nominate their candidates for the general election.

Ehrmantraut said the party does not encourage that type of behavior.

"If anyone asked, we would encourage them not to do it," he said.

Besides attorney general, party conventions will also nominate candidates for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, public utilities commissioner, state treasurer, state auditor and school and public lands commissioner.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Spammers attack South Dakota Republican party's convention website