Pro-Voter Coalition Sues South Dakota Over Confusing Administration of Documentation Law

Today, the League of Women Voters of South Dakota and an individual plaintiff, represented by Campaign Legal Center, the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project, the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota and Heidepriem Purtell Siegel Hinrichs, LLP, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota seeking to ensure South Dakota’s administration of a new voter registration requirement complies with federal law.

Senate Bill 175, enacted in March 2026, requires new voters to provide unnecessary documentation of their U.S. citizenship when registering to vote or otherwise lose the opportunity to vote in state and local elections. For the most common and accessible forms of this documentation — driver’s licenses, Tribal IDs and non-driver state IDs — voters must provide original copies in person. And if there is an issue with the voter’s documentation, the state sends a notice letter containing inaccurate information about why their registration was denied.

Notably, this law makes voting particularly difficult in a rural state like South Dakota, where thousands of voters register by mail or voter registration drives and round-trip distances to county election offices can exceed 100 miles.

The implementation of this law has not only caused confusion and created unnecessary barriers to registering to vote for South Dakotans, but it also violates federal law.

“Federal law is clear: South Dakota must inform voters about documentation requirements before taking away their right to cast a ballot in state and local elections,” said Mel Neal, legal counsel for voting rights at Campaign Legal Center. “Nor can South Dakota impose immaterial requirements that make it harder for Americans to register to vote. We are asking the court to ensure that South Dakota’s new registration law is implemented in a way that complies with crucial, pro-voter provisions of federal law, so all South Dakotans can make their voices heard in this upcoming election, and all elections in the future.”

"The administration of SB175 has not only effectively shut down our League’s ability to register new voters, but it has pointlessly caused voter confusion and made voting harder,” said Kathryn Johnson, president of the League of Women Voters of South Dakota. “The League will fight to continue our work to ensure that all South Dakotans can make their voices heard."

“Eligible voters should not be blocked from participating in state and local elections because of unnecessary barriers in the registration process,” said Marcia Johnson, chief of activation and justice for the League of Women Voters of the United States. “When voters face confusing requirements or receive inaccurate information about their registration, the result is fewer voices being heard in our democracy. This lawsuit seeks to ensure that South Dakotans can exercise the full voting rights afforded to them under federal law.”

“South Dakota has turned a basic step in the voting process into a massive headache,” said Jake Van Leer, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “Voters should not have to navigate confusing instructions, track down documents, and take time out of their busy schedules just to register to vote. The state is creating unnecessary obstacles instead of making voting easier for eligible folks, and federal law requires the state to do better.”

“There is no proof of widespread voter fraud or evidence of non-citizens voting that justifies a law that imposes burdensome show-your-papers requirements for eligible voters to cast their ballots and makes it impossible for organizations like the League of Women Voters to register people to vote,” said Andrew Malone, senior staff attorney with the ACLU of South Dakota. “A robust democracy relies on fair and equal ballot access for the entire electorate. Our lawsuit aims to guarantee that South Dakota enforces its new voter registration law in compliance with federal mandates so that no one is disenfranchised from participating in our elections.”

A copy of the complaint is below.