South Dakota now requires people registering to vote to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, with the specific evidence needed defined in the law. The bill repeals previous voter registration rules and updates requirements for federal voters, including those who use mail forwarding addresses or cannot provide citizenship documentation. This change makes citizenship verification a mandatory part of the voter registration process.
The amendment restructures the bill to formally declare citizenship proof a requirement for voter registration and adds an emergency declaration provision to the bill's title, while also clarifying that individuals already registered in another county are exempt from federal voter designation if they lack citizenship documentation. This STRENGTHENS and CLARIFIES the citizenship requirement by making it an explicit statutory mandate rather than just describing the voter registration form process.
The amendment reorganizes and clarifies the bill's proof-of-citizenship requirements by restructuring the statutory provisions and adding new section 3 to specify exactly what documents voters must present (South Dakota or other state IDs issued after July 1, 2025, tribal IDs, or photocopies of birth certificates/passports). This change STRENGTHENS the citizenship verification requirement by making the documentation standards more explicit and operational rather than leaving them vague.
The amendment is a technical enrollment update that reformats the bill from its working draft version into its final legislative form, changing the bill number reference from 26.776.20 to 26.776.21 and updating header designations from "SENATE ENGROSSED" to "ENROLLED," but making no substantive changes to the voting citizenship requirement or emergency declaration provisions.
Signed by the Governor S.J. 550
Delivered to the Governor S.J. 510
Signed by the Speaker H.J. 543
Signed by the President S.J. 485
House of Representatives Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 64, NAYS 3. H.J. 513
State Affairs Do Pass Passed, YEAS 11, NAYS 1.
State Affairs Scheduled for hearing
First read in House and referred to House State Affairs H.J. 387
Senate Do Pass Amended Passed, YEAS 28, NAYS 6. S.J. 315
Senate Motion to amend S.J. 315
Senate Placed on calendar pursuant to JR 6F-6 Passed, YEAS 28, NAYS 6. S.J. 310
State Affairs Report out of committee without recommendation as amended
Senate Recalled from committee (Rule 7-7) Senate State Affairs S.J. 269
State Affairs Deferred to the 41st legislative day Passed, YEAS 5, NAYS 3. S.J. 23
State Affairs Motion to amend S.J. 23
State Affairs Scheduled for hearing
First read in Senate and referred to Senate State Affairs S.J. 141
Prime sponsor · Sen.
R
Do Pass Amended
State Affairs — Do Pass
Placed on calendar pursuant to JR 6F-6
Do Pass Amended
State Affairs — Deferred to the 41st legislative day