South Dakota’s new voter ID requirements are taking effect for the June 2 primary, but some county election officials say the state’s instructions have been unclear enough to produce uneven handling of citizenship documentation as early and absentee voting is already under way.
Senate Bill 175, passed in South Dakota’s 2026 legislative session, requires first-time registrants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship during the registration process, according to the secretary of state’s outline of acceptable documents. The law included an emergency clause, allowing the rules to apply to the upcoming primary ballot.
A key point of confusion for auditors involves South Dakota driver’s licenses, which since July 2025 have been issued with an indication of a person’s U.S. citizenship status. The secretary of state’s website lists driver’s licenses as an acceptable form of proof, but the officials described uncertainty about whether the license must be presented physically at an auditor’s office or whether a photocopy can be accepted instead.
Amy Scott-Stoltz, president of the League of Women Voters of South Dakota, said county auditors are having difficulty ensuring a uniform system across the state as they try to follow the secretary of state’s guidelines. She said auditors differ in how they interpret whether documents need to be presented in person or can be accepted by mail.
In Hughes County, Finance Officer Thomas Oliva—who acts as that county’s auditor—said his office requires new voters to show the physical driver’s license. Oliva said the reasoning is that the back of the license contains the relevant information, and his office wants to see the physical card to verify it. In Haakon County, Auditor Stacy Pinney said she similarly planned to require new applicants to physically show the driver’s license, saying she wants to see the “actual card” if verification is needed.
In contrast, Harding County Auditor Kathy Glines said her office would accept a photocopy of the driver’s license, requiring voters to send a front-and-back copy. She added that she hoped voters would call before mailing the paperwork because of the office’s limited hours.
The confusion is not limited to registration documents. Oliva said the secretary of state’s office created confusion in how it communicates with prospective voters who are missing required citizenship documentation. He said voters deemed not to have provided proof are sent a letter indicating they are a “Federal Only” voter, meaning that in South Dakota they can vote only in statewide federal elections for U.S. president, U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives races.
Oliva said he disagrees with that approach and described what he viewed as insufficient explanation in the “Federal Only” letters. He said the system-generated message explains ineligible status for issues such as using a commercial mail receiving agency, a mail forwarding service or a post office box without sufficient residential description, but does not address missing citizenship documentation. He said he created an alternative letter for people classified as Federal Only due to lack of proof of citizenship, which outlines options for submitting eligible documents to change their status.
As early and absentee balloting proceeds in some counties for the primary, the AP story said primary voting “does appear to be back on track across the state.” The reporting also said a News Watch outreach to the state’s 66 county auditors found that 30 counties had confirmed receiving their absentee primary ballots so far. Oliva said the challenges he has seen have been “manageable,” and he said his office is focusing on correcting misconceptions among already-registered voters, including concerns that they must bring additional documents to vote.
Oliva also said that his office regrets not every county will execute the new requirements the same way, but said such implementation differences are ultimately up to each auditor’s office. Glines said her county is working to do the best it can to follow the secretary of state’s guidelines, describing the process as officials “feeling our way through it” while handling the new rules.
Concerns about the citizenship documentation requirements are unfolding alongside state-level ballot planning. The AP reported that South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley has released a draft explanation for Amendment J, which will appear on the ballot in November and would amend the state constitution to disqualify people who are not U.S. citizens from voting. Under state law, the attorney general is required to issue a draft explanation that serves as a preview of the ballot language, with public comment due by May 8 and a final draft due to the secretary of state’s office by May 19.