Voting group sues state over implementation of voter registration rules

Voting group sues state over implementation of voter registration rules

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -A coalition of voting rights groups has filed a lawsuit against South Dakota state officials, alleging that a newly enacted law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration is being implemented inconsistently across the state.

The lawsuit, which includes the League of Women Voters of South Dakota, an individual plaintiff, the ACLU, and the ACLU Voting Rights Project, does not challenge the law itself. Instead, it focuses on how county auditors are enforcing it.

During the last legislative session, South Dakota lawmakers passed a bill requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Because the bill included an emergency clause, it went into effect immediately.

Amy Scott Stolz, a spokesperson for the League of Women Voters of South Dakota, said the organization monitored the rollout and found a lack of uniformity among the state’s county auditors.

“We found that the auditors across the state were implementing it differently,” Scott Stolz said.

According to Scott Stolz, some eligible voters registering as federal-only voters are receiving official correspondence containing inaccurate information. Specifically, she noted some individuals who have not yet provided proof of citizenship received letters falsely claiming their registration issue was due to an address error.

The League of Women Voters said it attempted to resolve the inconsistencies with both the Secretary of State’s office and the State Board of Elections before taking legal action.

“I’ve reached out to the Secretary of State’s office as well as the State Board of Elections to see if they could clarify what was going on here, as well as correct some incorrect information that was going out, and they had refused to do so,” Scott Stolz said. “And so our last resort was the lawsuit.”

The South Dakota Attorney General’s office, which defends the state in such lawsuits, declined to comment on the details of the case. Attorney General Marty Jackley’s office said it had not yet been officially served and does not comment on pending litigation.

For voting advocates, the goal of the lawsuit is to establish a uniform standard for all eligible voters, regardless of where they live.

“Voting is a right that we have,” Scott Stolz said. “We would like the law to be implemented the same way across the state, so that no matter what county you go to, the procedures are the same.”

If you have questions about voter registration, you can contact the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office.

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