ROSEBUD, SD – A recall petition seeking the removal of Cyril Scott as Rosebud Sioux Tribal President failed to obtain the number of signatures required to be valid.
The petition was the second attempt by tribal voters to initiate the process of recalling the tribal president. The petition alleged that President Scott had lost the confidence of the tribal members to lead the tribe by his actions toward tribal elders along with his hiring/firing practices and misuse of funds.
Article VII, Section 3 of the RST Constitution and By-Laws calls for “thirty (30) percent of the number of persons who voted in the last tribal election” to sign a recall petition in order for it to be valid. There were 865 signatures on the petition and only 428 were deemed valid, according to Tribal Secretary Julie Peneaux.
The voters list from the General Election held in August of 2012, where 2,538 ballots were cast, was used to determine the validity of signatures. The numbers from the 2012 General Election requires 761 valid signatures on any recall petition in order for it to be considered.
Of the 865 signatures on the petition, 428 were from registered voters who did vote and were thus determined as valid signers. 293 tribal members who signed the petition were registered voters who did not vote in the August 2012 election. Also, 111 signers of the petition were not registered tribal voters, 24 people signed twice, 1 person signed three times while still another person signed 4 times. In addition, there were 4 signatures which were illegible.
President Scott was elected in August 2012 to a three (3) year term, which ends in 2015.
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