Attorney General Jackley Releases Draft Explanation on Proposed Constitutional Amendment Requiring Citizenship to Vote
PIERRE, S.D. – As required by state law, an explanation for a Constitutional Amendment proposed by the Legislature that would clarify that an individual must be a citizen of the United States to be eligible to vote has been filed with the Secretary of State’s Office.
Attorney General Marty Jackley takes no position on any such proposal for purposes of the ballot explanation. He has provided a fair and neutral explanation to help assist the voters as required by state law.
Sen. Jim Mehlhaff is listed as the prime sponsor of the proposal which was approved by the 2025 South Dakota Legislature.
The ballot explanation can be found here.
State law requires the Attorney General draft a title and explanation for each initiated measure, initiated constitutional amendment, constitutional amendment proposed by the Legislature, or referred measure that may appear on an election ballot. The Attorney General’s explanation is meant to be an “objective, clear, and simple summary” intended to “educate the voters of the purpose and effect of the proposed” measure, as well as identify the “legal consequences” of each measure.
Once the Attorney General has filed and posted the draft explanation, the public has 10 days to provide written comment. The explanation was filed April 28, 2026, and the deadline for comments on this explanation is May 8, 2026, at the close of business in Pierre, South Dakota. The final explanation is due to the Secretary of State on May 19, 2026.
If approved, the explanation will accompany the proposal on the 2026 general election ballot which is Nov. 3.
To file written comments regarding the language of the explanation, not the merits of the proprosal, please use one of the following methods below. Copies of all comments received by the deadline will be posted on this website.
Comments may be submitted via mail, or through hand delivery, to the Attorney General’s Office at:
Office of the Attorney General
Ballot Comment
1302 S.D. E. Hwy. 1889, Suite #1
Pierre, SD 57501
Comments that are hand delivered must be received by the close of business in Pierre, South Dakota, by May 8, 2026.
Comments may also be emailed to ATGballotcomments@state.sd.us by May 8, 2026 Comments should be clearly expressed in the body of the email. The Attorney General’s Office will not open attachments in an effort to prevent malware or other digital threats. Please include your name and contact information when submitting your comment. The title of the comment must be included in the subject line of the email.
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I’m not sure why the legislature thinks we have non-citizens voting. Time and time again, they lose on the isolated issues on the ballot, but get re-elected because they’ve convinced most of the state that the opposition party is poison. It is a funny game we play here, but it isn’t caused by non-citizens voting.
Boo hiss.
Isn’t it weird how Mehlhalff has tried to make initiated constitutional amendments harder to pass but now introduces his own.
This is sensible and will win overwhelming support from the electorate.
Ahh the mass Kool-Aid majority
Vote no. We have to prove that the stupidity stops right here right now.
The state constitution already says you have to be a US citizen to vote. They really think people are too dumb to read the actual constitution. Article 7 Section 2 literally starts out by saying “Voter Qualification. Every United States citizen eighteen years of age or older…” This is performative BS for their reelection campaigns.