On July 31, The ACLU of South Dakota sent a letter to the Secretary of State’s office demanding they remove publicly available copies of the statewide voter registration file that make it possible to identify which voters registered at public assistance offices while applying for assistance programs. On August 1, the Secretary of State's office complied with our demands to remove the data pertaining to where a voter registered and notify all impacted voters by mail.
This was an egregious violation of voters’ privacy rights. These privacy rights are guaranteed under state and federal law, including the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”).
The NVRA seeks to expand voting access to underrepresented communities through the requirement that public benefit offices offer voter registration. Recent litigation challenged South Dakota’s compliance with this provision and resulted in a finding that the state had failed the NVRA’s mandate to “establish procedures that will increase the number of eligible citizens to vote.” The resulting settlement guaranteed expanded voter registration services at public assistance agencies.
“Imagine having to sue for your right to access voter registration, then finding out just a few years later that because you exercised your right to register to vote at the Department of Social Services, you lost your right to confidentiality at that agency,” said ACLU South Dakota Advocacy Manager Samantha Chapman. “Essentially, voters who exercised their right to register to vote at public benefits offices were punished for it through this substantial privacy violation.”
While the choice to publicize this information was unintentional, it reflects a larger, disturbing trend of the state not concerning itself with the voting rights of South Dakotans who utilize public assistance programs and will have a chilling effect on this group’s participation in the electoral process.
“Even though this sensitive information was exposed by mistake, the elected officials responsible for running our elections and keeping sensitive data confidential have an obligation to be transparent with impacted voters, take ownership of their mistake, and do everything in their respective authorities as elected officials to begin to rectify the situation,” said Chapman.
Removing these files does not wash away the damage that has been done. Private information about South Dakotans has now been made public to anyone who downloaded the files in the past month.
Any South Dakota residents who have been impacted by this violation of privacy are encouraged to reach out to the ACLU by filling out the information on our legal intake form, which can be found at aclusd.org/get-help.
About the ACLU of South Dakota
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota is a non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of civil liberties and civil rights. The ACLU of South Dakota is part of a three-state chapter that also includes North Dakota and Wyoming. The team in South Dakota is supported by staff in those states.
The ACLU believes freedoms of press, speech, assembly, and religion, and the rights to due process, equal protection and privacy, are fundamental to a free people. In addition, the ACLU seeks to advance constitutional protections for groups traditionally denied their rights, including people of color, women, and the LGBTQ communities. The ACLU of South Dakota carries out its work through selective litigation, lobbying at the state and local level, and through public education and awareness of what the Bill of Rights means for the people of South Dakota.