South Dakota's top elections official has removed hundreds of people from the state's voter rolls as general election voting is underway — a move she defends as necessary to ensure election integrity but that opponents say is illegal and could disenfranchise valid voters.
The state Department of Public Safety on Monday announced the removal of 273 “noncitizens," saying: “This discovery was part of a review to ensure the integrity of South Dakota’s elections and safeguard against improper voter registration.”
In a statement, Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson said, “Ensuring the integrity of our elections is our highest priority. We are proud of the thorough work done to safeguard South Dakota’s voter rolls. We worked closely with DPS to resolve this issue, and we’re constantly working to make sure that only eligible citizens are participating in our elections.”
Her office’s Division of Elections director did not immediately respond to emailed questions about why the names were removed. A DPS spokesman declined to comment.
South Dakota has about 682,000 registered voters, more than 617,000 of whom Johnson's office considers to be active.
South Dakota was one of the first states to begin early voting for the November general election. Absentee voting began Sept. 20 in South Dakota.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota on Tuesday called for the stricken voters to be reinstated, saying their removal could disenfranchise naturalized U.S. citizens — who can vote — and violates the National Voter Registration Act's deadline of 90 days before elections for federal office for systematic voter-list maintenance to be completed.
Ineligible voters may be removed, but that "must be based on individualized information or an investigation,” the ACLU said.
"While the state can make individualized inquiries into specific voters with evidence to support its claims that an individual is not legally eligible to vote, it cannot enact blanket purges based on potentially inaccurate databases this close to the election,” ACLU of South Dakota advocacy manager Samantha Chapman said in a statement. “The risk of disenfranchising eligible voters at this late stage is simply too high when voters have a mere 13 days before the voter registration deadline.”
It wasn't clear Wednesday whether the 273 people were told that their names were removed from the voter roll or whether they could face perjury charges for illegally registering.
South Dakota voters will be deciding a number of high-profile ballot questions this fall, including measures to enshrine abortion rights, legalize marijuana and repeal the state food tax.
Similar controversies over registered voters being removed from voters rolls have arisen in other states, such as Ohio and Virginia.
Voter registration lists also have been a target of conservative groups ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
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Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.
Jack Dura, The Associated Press
