House bill for online voter registration

A State House Bill has been introduced that would allow South Dakota voters to register to vote online.

House Bill 1050 is sponsored by the Committee on Local Government at the request of the State Board of Elections.

If passed, the county auditors will still be in charge of maintaining voter registration records in their respective counties and any eligible voter with a valid drivers license or state-issued ID card can register to vote through the online system.

Some Pennington County residents, especially the younger ones, are in favor of a system that would allow for more flexibility.

"I think that is a really important topic to address, and especially with the new generations kind of coming up and moving into South Dakota," said Grant Bauer, a freshman at South Dakota School of Mines. "I think it's really important to have multiple options. And especially me, I'm online all of the time."

Not all area residents are as supportive of the online registration. Some are unsure and think an online system could be exploited.

"Possibly, and possibly not-- I think on paper is probably a better way because you got better evidence of it," said Benjamin Gonzalez, a retiree from Rapid City. "But online, there's too much scamming and too many other things going on that would probably not work online. But, a lot of things are done online, too. That's kind of a catch 22, I think."

The 2020 South Dakota legislative session starts on Tuesday in Pierre.