A new law in South Dakota is creating an unnecessarily confusing voter registration process for South Dakotans.
The administration of Senate Bill 175 (SB 175) is causing voters to lose their right to participate in local and statewide elections, despite being eligible to do so.
On behalf of the League of Women Voters in South Dakota and an individual voter and alongside the ACLU Voting Rights Project, ACLU of South Dakota, and Heidepriem Purtell Siegel Hinrichs LLP, Campaign Legal Center is suing to ensure that the administration of this new law doesn’t threaten South Dakotans’ freedom to vote.
What is SB 175?
Signed into law in March 2026, SB 175 adds new documentation requirements for South Dakotans registering to vote.
Despite earlier efforts by the League of Women Voters of South Dakota and Campaign Legal Center to ensure the implementation of this state law was in compliance with federal voter protections, the state is refusing to fix known issues with the voter registration process.
When a voter registers, they must provide a form of identification to prove their citizenship or otherwise become registered as a federal voter who cannot participate in state and local elections. However, South Dakota now requires voters to provide certain forms of identification to prove their citizenship in an original form when registering to vote.
This new requirement forces voters to register in person, rather than by mail or through a voter registration drive, if they are using any of the most common forms of ID — including driver licenses, Tribal IDs, and non-driver state IDs.
This immaterial requirement is particularly problematic in a rural state like South Dakota, where tens of thousands of voters register by mail or voter registration drives and round-trip distances to county election offices can exceed 100 miles.
Additionally, voters whose documentation is deemed insufficient to prove their citizenship status also receive a letter misinforming them as to why their state registration was rejected. Instead of alerting them to the real issue, the letter inaccurately states that they have been registered as a federal voter because they listed a nonresidential address on their voter registration form.
The administration of this new law, including the requirement to provide original copies of the documentation in person and the misleading notice letters sent to federal voters, is in violation of both procedural due process protections under the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Campaign Legal Center is suing South Dakota to ensure that Americans can register to vote without onerous barriers and make their voices heard.
If South Dakota intends to require voters to provide additional documentation to participate in state and local elections, it must do so in a way that is fair and complies with federal law.
Join us in the fight today to enforce fair voter registration practices.