SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The ACLU is asking for more information from the South Dakota Secretary of State (SOS) with concerns that the state may have violated federal law and may have stripped voting access from naturalized U.S. citizens.
Following an announcement from the South Dakota Department of Public Safety (DPS) that 273 ‘noncitizen’ voters had been removed from South Dakota voter rolls less than 30 days before the November general election, the ACLU is calling for details on how the purge was carried out and how the citizenship status of the removed individuals was determined.
UPDATE: 112 ‘noncitizens’ found on Minnehaha Co. voter rolls
Samantha Chapman with the ACLU of South Dakota spoke with KELOLAND News about the matter on Wednesday.
“Federal law is really clear that you can’t remove, in a systemic and blanketed way, voters from your voter rolls within 90 days of a federal election,” said Chapman. “So to see a press release from the Secretary of State’s office — the Department of Public Safety stating they have done exactly that a mere 29 days before the next election was deeply concerning to us.”