State lawmaker Tom Pischke pleads not guilty to election fraud charges

Republican state lawmaker Tom Pischke has pleaded not guilty to charges of election fraud. A preliminary hearing regarding the case has been sent for August 21^st. Pischke is a Republican representative from Dell Rapids who is accused of forging precinct committeeman or committeewoman statement forms, which are felony offenses. Pischke handily won a race for precinct committeeman in Minnehaha county during the primary election on June 2^nd. Pischke did not have a challenger in June’s primary election for District 25’s Senate seat. He faces Independent candidate Bryan Breitling in November’s general election.