ACLU, League of Women Voters Urge Rhoden to Veto SD Bill Aiming to Disenfranchise Married Women

Aside from transferring millions of dollars from your grocery budget to the owners of the biggest houses in town, has the 2026 Legislature done anything all that bad?

The American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters say, How about Senate Bill 175, South Dakota’s own Disenfranchise Married Women Act?

When he wasn’t busy skipping work and failing math, Senator John Carley (R-29/Piedmont) foisted upon the Legislature and the people of South Dakota SB 175, his own version of the federal SAVE Act—you know, the doomed bill Trumpists want because they know rigging the election is the only way to stop Democrats from cleaning their clocks in the midterms. South Dakota law already requires that voters be United States citizens; Carley’s SB 175 requires everyone registering to vote in South Dakota to show their county auditor documents proving their citizenship. SB 175 lists the acceptable documents:

(1) The individual’s South Dakota driver license or nondriver identification card, provided that the license or identification card was issued after July 1, 2025, and indicates that the individual has provided sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the individual is a United States citizen;

(2) A valid driver license or nondriver identification card issued by any other state or territory of the United States, provided that the license or identification card indicates that the individual has provided sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the individual is a United States citizen;

(3) The individual’s tribal identification card; or

(4) A legible photocopy of:

(a) The individual’s birth certificate;

(b) The pages of the individual’s United States passport, which identify the applicant and show the individual’s passport number;

(c) A consular report of birth abroad issued by the United States Department of State for the individual;

(d) The individual’s certificate of naturalization; or

(e) Any other type of acceptable documentary evidence of citizenship permitted under 42 C.F.R. § 436.407 (January 1, 2026).

If an individual provides a copy of the individual’s certificate of naturalization, the county auditor must verify the number of the certificate of naturalization with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service [2026 Senate Bill 175, excerpt from Section 3, as enrolled 2026.03.05].

As with the SAVE Act, if you’re married and took your spouse’s name, the auditor could refuse to accept your birth certificate as proof of your citizenship and thus refuse to let you register to vote.

The ACLU and the League of Women Voters are asking Governor Larry Rhoden to veto SB 175 because it could deny thousands of South Dakotans their right to vote:

Dear Governor Larry Rhoden:

The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota (ACLU of South Dakota) the South Dakota League of Women Voters urge you to veto Senate Bill 175, a bill that requires an individual to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote and that declares an emergency. SB 175 will potentially disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters in South Dakota who lack easy access to the required documents, such as a U.S. passport or a birth certificate. This bill will also have a heightened impact on eligible senior, youth, women, low-income, and rural voters across the State.

SB 175 places the burden on eligible voters to procure documents that take both time and money to obtain. Notably, the bill will make voting harder for married women and other South Dakotans who have changed their names; these groups will need additional documents to prove their name change, like a marriage certificate, adding extra time and cost to simply register to vote. According to the Center for American Progress, as of 2024, over 200,000 South Dakota women have a birth certificate that no longer matches their current name, the vast majority of whom changed their name after marriage. It would have a similar effect on lower-income voters, young people, seniors, and anyone else who does not travel internationally or who does not have the time or means to obtain a passport or copies of their birth certificate. Indeed, over 60% of South Dakotans—well over half a million people in the state—did not have a valid passport as of 2024. And because SB 175 will go into effect immediately, those impacted by the new law will have limited time to obtain the appropriate documentation before the May 18th voter registration deadline for the upcoming June 2nd Primary Election Day.

SB 175 is a sweeping, significant change to our voting laws that could prevent tens of thousands of citizens from exercising their fundamental right to vote. When Kansas enacted a similar law, 31,000 eligible voters were prevented from voting, and the law was ultimately found to be an unconstitutional burden on voting rights. Non-citizens voting is an issue which is virtually non-existent and already illegal. Moreover, South Dakota’s county auditors have effective procedures in place to guard against illegal voting. In addition to the barriers to voting, SB 175 will also impose a burden on auditors and other county employees that is redundant to the processes already in place.

Governor Rhoden, vetoing SB 175 would send a clear message: South Dakota supports voters. This bill makes it harder to participate in elections and undermines democracy. Vetoing this unnecessary bill will help ensure that every eligible vote is counted and will prevent the imposition of unnecessary barriers that will disproportionately affect certain voters [American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota and South Dakota League of Women Voters, letter to Governor Larry Rhoden, 2026.03.16].

Note that emergency clause: since SB 175 would take effect immediately if the Governor signs it, the ACLU and LWV would not have to option to organize a petition drive to pause SB 175 and refer this noxious disenfranchisement to a public vote. If Governor Rhoden does not veto SB 175, voting-rights advocates will have to lawyer up and take South Dakota to court—and fast!—to preserve the rights of South Dakotans hoping to register and vote in the 2026 elections to participate in the democratic process.

p.s.: Only three Republicans—Senators Deibert, Kolbeck, and Mehlhaff—had the guts to vote with Democratic Senators Foster, Larson, and Smith against SB 175. But over in the House, Democratic Reps. Emery and Uhre-Balk voted for this gross disenfranchisement (shame! shame!), despite the fact that it threatens the rights of hyphenated name-changers like Rep. Uhre-Balk herself.