Defending everyone's rights and freedoms.

For years, the ACLU has been engaged in election protection efforts, working to ensure easy, fair, and safe access to the ballot box. This year, that work will be more important than ever – and we need your help. Will you join our Election Protection Team? Election observers will play a crucial role in monitoring polling places for issues affecting voters, ensuring there is no voter disenfranchisement, and tracking any problems that can be fixed for future elections. You don't have to have any specific expertise – we'll train you! The only requirement is that you're not a candidate for office and that you're available for at least a two-hour shift on Tuesday, November 3, during the general election. We'll be hosting trainings across the state – and online. Follow the links below to register for the training you would like to attend.

Samantha Chapman explains the latest win for voting rights in South Dakota and our next steps to remove barriers to the ballot.

The League of Women Voters of South Dakota and an individual plaintiff, represented by Campaign Legal Center, the ACLU Voting Rights Project, the ACLU of South Dakota and Heidepriem Purtell Siegel Hinrichs, LLP, have filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to ensure South Dakota’s administration of a new voter registration requirement complies with the U.S. Constitution and federal law. During the 2026 legislative session, the ACLU of South Dakota and the League of Women Voters of South Dakota testified against SB 175, which requires new voters to provide unnecessary documentation of their U.S. citizenship when registering to vote or otherwise lose the opportunity to vote in state and local elections by being designated a “federal-only” voter. For the most common and accessible forms of this documentation—driver licenses, Tribal IDs, and non-driver state IDs—the state is requiring voters to provide original copies in person. And if there is an issue with the voter’s documentation, the state sends these voters a notice letter containing inaccurate information about why their registration was denied. The implementation of this law has not only caused confusion and created unnecessary barriers to registering to vote for South Dakotans, but it also violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law. We are asking the court to ensure that South Dakota’s new registration law is implemented in a way that complies with crucial, pro-voter provisions of federal law, so all South Dakotans can make their voices heard in this upcoming election, and all elections in the future.

Our democracy works best when all eligible voters participate and have their voices heard. Here’s everything you need to know about casting your ballot this year.