South Dakota Elections Board Supports Online Registration

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota Elections Board is giving its support to a bill that would allow voters to register online. The board on Tuesday agreed unanimously to back the proposal from the secretary of state's office in next year's legislative session.

The secretary of state's office also plans to seek a change to state law to remove voters' birth year from the publicly accessible voter registration files, due to identity theft concerns.

And Minnehaha County Auditor Bob Litz is seeking legislative support for a pilot project in 2020 that would audit election equipment. Litz says it would increase voter confidence in results.

"If we have a randomly selected audit that says there's a high degree of probability that the machines did it correctly, that's in addition to the results that we already have," Litz told the Elections Board.

The online registration proposal would allow people with a valid state driver's license or ID card to register online. County auditors would verify the voter's information. Right now, residents can register in person or at their county auditor's office when they get or renew a driver's license, and that would continue.

The online system would require the last five digits of a voter's Social Security number as an added layer of security.

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