MITCHELL S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) South Dakota’s June 4th primary will be the first national election here since ballot dropboxes were banned in 2023. It’s one of 12 states to ban using dropboxes to cast votes, although no state election offices that used the boxes in 2020 found a connection to voter fraud or stolen ballots, according to an Associated Press survey. The change is more likely to impact rural and tribal voters, who already face barriers to voting. A 2022 federal report on Native American voting rights encourages local officials to provide sites for voter registration, polling and mail ballot collection in places convenient for Native voters.
Early voting is still possible with a mail-in absentee ballot. But Bordeaux says that can be complicated on reservations, where most homes don’t have street addresses. The state’s voter registration form allows applicants to describe or draw a map of where they live, but they can’t use post office box numbers. South Dakota doesn’t accept tribal I-D cards for voter registration.