South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson speaks at a press conference on election security and integrity on October 9, 2024, at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Zach Wendling / Nebraska Examiner)
South Dakota’s secretary of state is accepting responsibility for the release of sensitive voter registration data after her office published a spreadsheet identifying thousands of residents who registered to vote at government assistance agencies.
“As Secretary of State, I accept full responsibility for the release of this information. “My office is dedicated to both transparency and voter privacy,” Secretary of State Monae Johnson said in a statement Friday. “Upon discovering the issue, we acted immediately to remove the data and prevent further dissemination.”
Following the passage of a new law requiring the public to have free access to the state’s complete voter registration list, the data was made available online. However, one of the fields included in the data was “Source of Registration,” which publicly identified people who registered at offices for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or Women, Infants, and Children.
A Searchlight analysis found that 7,186 people were identified as having registered to vote while applying for public assistance.
The release of the information drew criticism from both lawmakers and the general public.
“This is what happens when you put the wrong people in charge,” said state House Minority Leader Erin Healy, a Democrat from Sioux Falls who voted against the bill. “We talk a lot about freedom and privacy in this state, so it’s a shame that this legislation led to this type of breach.”
The list contains information about 668,419 registered voters, including their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, party registrations, and other personal information.
The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office “apologizes for the disclosure of information,” according to the statement, and is committed to “restoring public trust following this error.”
While voter registration at a public assistance agency does not guarantee a person receives benefits, Johnson stated that her office will notify affected individuals via mail. She stated that county auditors have also been contacted, and anyone who accessed the original data will be asked to delete any copies.
The new law, which passed earlier this year with bipartisan support and went into effect in July, was billed as increasing election transparency by making voter registration information available without a $2,500 fee. Activists who support hand-counting ballots, oppose the use of vote-counting machines, and question the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election were among those who pushed the legislation as a “election integrity” measure.
The Secretary of State’s Office advised voters with concerns to contact the office directly.
Meanwhile, the possibility of suing the state looms. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota invited those affected to fill out a legal intake form on its website.
“Removing these files does not wash away the damage that has been done,” the ACLU stated in a news release. “Private information about South Dakotans has now been made public to anyone who downloaded the files in the past month.”
