Media Contact

Janna Farley, jfarley@aclu.org

February 4, 2020

Today, the House Local Government Committee voted to advance House Bill 1050, legislation that would allow for online voter registration in South Dakota. The ACLU of South Dakota supports this bill and commends the committee for expanding voter access to the polls.

“Voting is a fundamental right of our democracy. The decisions made on school boards, city halls, at the state legislature and the United States Congress impact the lives of all South Dakotans,” said Libby Skarin, ACLU of South Dakota policy director. “While there are many ways to influence our elected officials, there is only one way to determine who those officials will be: by voting. Modernizing voter registration with an online system is an important step toward a fairer, freer system of democracy.”

The American Civil Liberties Union has a long history of helping voters understand and exercise their voting rights and works to ensure that all eligible citizens have the right to register to vote, cast their ballot, and have their ballot counted.

About the ACLU of South Dakota

Decisions made during the annual sessions of the South Dakota Legislature have a deep and lasting impact on our state’s people and communities. As new laws are created and others repealed or written, it’s important to ensure that these changes preserve and strengthen our constitutional rights.

Based in Sioux Falls, 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.

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