State officials said Monday afternoon that they’re removing 273 noncitizens from the South Dakota voter roll, but they provided few additional details.
A news release from the state Department of Public Safety said the department “discovered the need for this correction” and worked with the state Bureau of Information and Telecommunications to “implement a fix and ensure election integrity.”
The removal is being executed by the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, the news release said.
“Ensuring the integrity of our elections is our highest priority,” said South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson in the news release. “We are proud of the thorough work done to safeguard South Dakota’s voter rolls.”
The news release did not say whether the noncitizens had voted, how they got on the voter roll, what counties they registered in, or what countries they originated from. (Editor's Note: The Dakota Scout reported that of the 273 non-citizens, only one had cast a ballot in years prior.)
South Dakota Searchlight attempted to pose those questions to Department of Public Safety spokesman Brad Reiners. He said “the press release speaks for itself” but said additional questions could be directed to the Secretary of State’s Office. When contacted by phone, that office asked for questions to be submitted via email. Searchlight submitted questions and is awaiting a response.
South Dakota has 682,031 total registered voters, according to Monday’s news release. The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 5 election is Oct. 21.
Updated story: State official says employee error led to 273 non-US citizens on voter rolls
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