An Act to permit the use of tribal identification cards when registering to vote.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:
Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 12-4:
At the request of a federally recognized Indian tribe located wholly or partially within the state, the secretary of state shall inform the tribe of the criteria needed to enter into a memorandum of understanding to allow a tribal identification card number to be used on the application for voter registration.
Section 2. That 12-4-5.4 be AMENDED:
12-4-5.4.
Any person
registering to vote shall provide the person's valid South Dakota
driver license number,
a tribal identification card number, if the tribe issuing the card
has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the secretary of
state pursuant to section 1 of this Act,
or a South Dakota nondriver identification number on the voter
registration form. If a person does not have a valid South Dakota
driver license,
a tribal identification card,
or a South Dakota nondriver identification number, the person
shall
must provide
the last four digits of the person's social security number on the
voter registration form. If a person does not have a valid South
Dakota driver license, a
tribal identification card, a
South Dakota nondriver identification number, or a social security
number, the person may only register at the county auditor's office
and
shall
must sign a
statement verifying
the fact
that the person does not have a valid South Dakota driver license, a
tribal identification card, a
South Dakota nondriver identification number, or a social security
number. The statement
shall
must be
prescribed by the State Board of Elections.
For purposes of this section and 12-4-5.5, the term "tribal identification card" means an unexpired identification card issued by a South Dakota tribal government of a tribe recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs during the time a memorandum of understanding is in place between the tribe and the secretary of state pursuant to section 1 of this Act, and that contains the legal name, date of birth, signature, unique identification number, and picture of the enrolled tribal member.
Section 3. That 12-4-5.5 be AMENDED:
12-4-5.5.
At the time voter
registration information is transmitted from a county to the
statewide voter registration file, the secretary of state shall
verify the authenticity of
the
a driver
license number or
the
a South Dakota
nondriver identification number with the driver license database.
The secretary of state shall verify the authenticity of a tribal
identification card number with the tribal government that issued the
card. If the
last four digits of the person's social security number have been
provided, the secretary of state shall review the social security
database to determine that the number, name, and date of birth are
accurate and that this information belongs to the person. If any of
this information is reported as not being accurate, the county
auditor must withdraw the voter registration and attempt to get the
correct information with the process provided in 12-4-5.3.
The State Board of Elections shall promulgate rules, pursuant to
chapter 1-26,
determining technical parameters for the driver license and social
security database verification
and the process for verifying the authenticity of a tribal
identification card.
Section 4. This Act is effective beginning January 1, 2025.