South Dakota’s version of the SAVE Act, Senate Bill 175, has already denied nine people in Lincoln County the right to vote:
Kayla Delfs, election coordinator with the Lincoln County Auditor’s Office, said the office had received 10 voter registration applications as of March 7 that were missing the necessary documentation to prove U.S. citizenship as required by the new law.
One person emailed proof of citizenship, but Delfs said she has not received documentation yet from the others after mailing notification of the problem to them. Those voters will be registered as federal only voters until they provide proper documentation — a new voter status signed into law in 2025. Federal only voters can vote in presidential and congressional races, not state and local races [Makenzie Huber, “Calendar Quirk and Law Change Have South Dakota Election Officials Worried About Deadlines,” South Dakota Searchlight, 2026.04.09].
Denying even a single South Dakotan the right to participate fully in elections is a grave error. Legislative and gubernatorial candidates seeking liberty and justice should campaign on repealing SB 175 and returning South Dakota to a philosophy of making it easier, not harder, for everyone to vote.