South Dakota's Voter ID Rules: A Patchwork of Guidelines

0:00It's May 1st. This is Canada News today, your AI-powered local news. South Dakota is rolling out new voter ID rules that demand proof of citizenship for first-time registrants, but county auditors are handling it there. Own way, because the Secretary of State's guidelines are murky. Senate Bill 175 kicked in early thanks to an emergency clause, just in time for the June 2nd primary, where early in absentee voting, is already happening. The big snag is with driver's licenses, which now show U.S. citizenship status since last July under another bill. The State site lists them as okay proof, but it doesn't say if a photocopy works, or folks got to show the real thing in person. Auditors are split some, like those in Hughes and Hayacon counties, want the physical car to check the back, while hard in counties cool with. Front and back copies by mail. The League of Women Voters says this patchwork is messing with uniform rules across all 66 counties. Meanwhile, confusion spills over to letters sent to voters missing docs, labeling them

1:02federal only, which limits them to just federal races without. Clear reasons why. One auditor even whipped up his own clearer notice. Ballots are arriving, boatings on track, and registered folks don't need extra papers at the polls. As they navigate this, Attorney General Marty Jackley's dropped a draft explanation for November's Amendment J, aiming to lock non-citizens out of. Looking in the state constitution, everyone's hoping the Secretary's office drops real clarity soon to smooth out primary day.