By 
A database of South Dakota voters that was published on the Secretary of State’s Office website identifies people who registered to vote while signing up for government assistance programs.
The database, obtained by The Dakota Scout, violates state and federal laws that bar government entities from releasing information about people on public assistance programs.
The publication of the information is drawing widespread condemnation in political circles.
The voter registry includes the identities of more than 600,000 South Dakotans who are registered to vote in one of the state’s 66 counties. While always public, the voter registry had only been made available by the Secretary of State’s Office for a cost until now.
MORE: Tropical Smoothie Cafe to open in Aberdeen Aug. 4, grand opening set for Aug. 9
The availability of the database online — free of charge — stems from a newly enacted election integrity law, but the release of public assistance data is raising alarms over data privacy. While the law was intended to increase transparency in elections, it has also identified voters who registered for welfare or other public assistance programs.
Between the initial registry release on July 1 and an update posted July 29, the publicly available voter file associates more than 7,000 registered voters with state-run welfare programs.
No apology from Johnson, who says database only identifies applications, not recipients
Johnson
According to a statement provided to The Dakota Scout Thursday, July 31 by the office of Secretary of State Monae Johnson, the registry doesn’t identify if someone is receiving assistance from the state, only that they registered to vote through a state agency like the Department of Social Services.
The Secretary of State’s Office published the database at the direction of House Bill 1062, enacted by the Legislature earlier this year. It required the Secretary of State’s Office to provide access, upon request, information contained on voter registration cards for individuals registered to vote in South Dakota.
“Where a person registers to vote is a normal data collection field that is collected. The crucial aspect of this is serving the people of South Dakota, giving them what they deserve, while still complying with state and federal law,” according to Johnson’s office.
The new law mandates the public’s right to inspect:
- The date of the last election in which the individual voted.
- The date when the voter’s information was last updated.
- Any application made to vote by absentee ballot, including:
- The mailing address listed on the absentee ballot application form;
- The type of absentee ballot requested;
- The date the ballot was requested;
- The date it was returned; and
- The method of absentee voting used.
The law also requires county auditors to make available the same information to residents in their counties. It requires auditors to transmit changes to their voter rolls each day to the secretary of state.
The law requires the Secretary of State’s Office to update the statewide master voter registration each Monday.
Fee previously charged for voter registration data
Voter registration data has always been publicly available in South Dakota, but at a price. Campaigns or even individuals could buy lists of registered voters from auditors and the secretary of state at various prices, depending on how much they wanted. For example, legislative campaigns can purchase the list of registered voters in a legislative district. The statewide voter registry that Johnson’s office published online was publicly available but at a cost of thousands of dollars.
MORE: Judge dismisses former Brown County employee’s lawsuit claiming forced resignation
The information included on the publicly available records included names, precinct, party affiliation and voting history. The information helps campaigns and other political groups identify potential supporters.
HB 1062 expands the scope of the information publicly available, as well as the ease in accessing the information. The new law requires the file to be open to public inspection, free of charge. Sensitive identifiers such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, South Dakota nondriver ID numbers and month and day of birth remain protected from disclosure, according to the statute.
State, federal laws prohibit sharing info about social service, assistance recipients
While not specifically addressed in the list of exemptions, state law also prohibits the government from releasing identifying information about participants in state-administered social service and financial assistance programs.
Federal law under the 1974 Privacy Act also prohibits the release of information about people in assistance programs without their consent.
Department of Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff said in a statement provided to The Dakota Scout that the agency is not involved in the disseminating of voter information. The department is responsible for administering many of the state-federal welfare programs.
MORE: Redfield rebuilds housing stock one lot and one house at a time
“As a public assistance agency, DSS is required by the National Voter Registration Act to provide applicants for public assistance programs the opportunity and assistance to register to vote using forms prescribed by the secretary of state, and to transmit completed registration forms to the appropriate county auditor. DSS does not assess individuals’ eligibility to vote, nor does it create or maintain the voter registration file.”