South Dakota settles with tribes to ensure voting rights

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota secretary of state will implement a voting rights coordinator and train state agencies on how to comply with federal voting rights laws. It’s part of a settlement with two Native American tribes that successfully sued the state for violating federal laws on aiding voter registration. U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol of South Dakota in May 2022 sided with two tribes, the Rosebud Sioux and the Oglala Sioux, and the Lakota People’s Law Project after they sued the secretary of state for not adhering to the National Voter Registration Act. The secretary of state’s office agreed to pay $625,000 in attorney’s fees to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.