Require an individual be a citizen of the United States before being eligible to vote and to provide a penalty therefor.
Summary
SB 68 amends South Dakota election law to make U.S. citizenship an explicit eligibility requirement for voting. The bill revises the state’s voter qualification statute to state that an individual may vote only if the person is a U.S. citizen, a South Dakota resident, at least 18 years old, not otherwise disqualified, and compliant with voter registration laws. It also updates related criminal provisions governing false voter registration statements, voting by an unqualified voter, voter impersonation, and double voting.
In addition to the eligibility change, the bill preserves and restates misdemeanor and felony penalties for election-related fraud. Knowingly making false statements to register or vote, or knowingly allowing another person to do so, remains a Class 1 misdemeanor. Voting while knowing one is not a qualified voter remains a Class 1 misdemeanor. Impersonating a registered voter to vote, or voting more than once or in multiple jurisdictions, remains a Class 6 felony. The bill also includes an exception for state employees submitting voter registration information under federal law.
Impact
SB 68 directly amends South Dakota Codified Laws Title 12, particularly § 12-3-1 and several sections in chapter 12-26, by adding citizenship as a statutory prerequisite for voting and reinforcing penalties tied to unlawful voting conduct. The practical effect is to tighten the state’s voter eligibility language and to align election-offense statutes with the new citizenship requirement. It affects prospective voters, election administrators, and enforcement authorities by making citizenship an express legal condition for ballot access and by maintaining criminal consequences for false registration, impersonation, and double voting.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have received generally favorable support in the Legislature, with multiple committee and floor votes advancing it by comfortable margins, including several unanimous or near-unanimous committee actions and strong final adoption votes. The voting pattern suggests broad agreement among supporters that the measure clarifies voter eligibility and election integrity rules. At the same time, the recorded no votes indicate some opposition, likely reflecting disagreement over the necessity, scope, or policy implications of adding an explicit citizenship requirement and associated enforcement provisions.
Contention
The main point of contention is the policy choice to explicitly require U.S. citizenship for voting, which supporters likely view as a clarification of eligibility and opponents may see as unnecessary, duplicative, or potentially exclusionary. A secondary area of concern is the criminal enforcement framework, since the bill preserves misdemeanor and felony penalties for election-related conduct and could raise questions about how aggressively violations will be pursued. No committee transcript is available, so the specific arguments are not recorded, but the divided votes show that while the bill had substantial support, it was not unanimous.