Committee advances bill requiring proof of U.S. citizenship for new voter registrations

The House State Affairs Committee recommended SB175, which would require individuals who are newly registering to vote to provide sufficient documentary proof of U.S. citizenship. The bill includes an emergency clause so it would take effect in time for the upcoming election cycle if enacted.

Sponsor Sen. John Carley (Dist. 29) said testimony in prior sessions and state checks had identified noncitizen registrations; he argued requiring documentation aligns voter registration with other federal proof standards and cited a list of acceptable documents consistent with Department of Public Safety and federal guidance. Several county auditors described both the rationale and potential administrative challenges. Minnehaha County Auditor Leah Anderson said in some cases clerks receive many registration forms right before elections and verifying documentation for newly registered voters could be operationally difficult.

Opponents — including the ACLU and the South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women — said South Dakota law already requires a citizen attestation under penalty of perjury (SDCL 12-4-1.2) and warned the new requirement could create unnecessary barriers for eligible voters (for example, students who leave campus without documents). The deputy secretary of state said the bill reflected an effort to add clarity and that many of the documents listed are already used for other state processes.

The committee voted to recommend the bill (due-pass). Lawmakers noted the bill’s emergency clause would apply to newly registering voters and that people already registered would be grandfathered.