Federal judge: South Dakota violating voter registration act

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A judge has ruled that South Dakota is violating federal laws by failing to make it easier to vote. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol in an opinion released Thursday (May 26, 2022) sided with two South Dakota American Indian tribes, the Rosebud Sioux and the Oglala Sioux. The tribes argued in a 2020 complaint that the South Dakota secretary of state’s office was not adhering to the National Voter Registration Act. The law requires state agencies to help residents register to vote when they interact with government agencies for other services. Piersoll wrote that secretary of state’s office had not provided adequate information to county auditors and the other state agencies that would help them comply with federal law.