Constitutional Amendment J: Citizenship Required to Vote
Statewide — all of South Dakota
General election · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- The South Dakota Legislature referred this amendment to the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot as Senate Joint Resolution 503 (2025 session), prime sponsored by Sen. Taffy Howard and Rep. Logan Manhart. The Senate passed it 33-2 on Feb. 3, 2025 and the House 58-11 on March 6, 2025, according to the Legislature's bill record.[2]
The question on the ballot
An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution Clarifying that an Individual Must Be a Citizen of the United States to be Eligible to Vote.[1]
Attorney General explanation: Article VII, § 2 of the South Dakota Constitution defines who is qualified to vote in state elections, including age, residency and United States citizenship requirements, and allows disqualification for mental incompetence or a felony conviction. This amendment adds people who are not United States citizens to the list of individuals disqualified from voting, clarifying the existing requirement that only citizens may vote in state elections. The text is one page long with two sections.[1]
A YES vote means
Vote “Yes” to adopt the amendment.
A NO vote means
Vote “No” to leave the Constitution as it is.
The law today
Per the Attorney General's explanation, Article VII, § 2 of the South Dakota Constitution defines who is qualified to vote in state elections, including age, residency and United States citizenship requirements, and allows disqualification for mental incompetence or a felony conviction.[1]
Arguments made for
- Statement by State Sen. Taffy Howard, District 34: “Vote YES to make it unmistakably clear that only United States citizens may vote in South Dakota elections.”[1]
- Statement by Sen. Howard: “This amendment does not change the voting rights of any eligible United States citizen. It does not change voter registration requirements, residency requirements, or election procedures.”[1]
Arguments made against
- Statement by Rep. Erik Muckey, District 15: “Only citizens can vote in South Dakota. Amendment J does not change that, but it gives bad actors a tool to deny your vote through an unclear citizenship challenge process.”[1]
- Statement by Rep. Muckey: “There has been no attempt to commit mass election fraud by noncitizens in South Dakota.”[1]
On record in support
Research notes & limits
Title, explanation and effect of a vote are the Attorney General's text as printed in the Secretary of State's 2026 Ballot Question Pamphlet; the pro and con statements are the authors' own statements printed there (the pamphlet says the Secretary of State is not responsible for their accuracy). The pamphlet prints no fiscal note for this amendment. The pro statement as printed in the pamphlet refers to the measure as 'Amendment G' in several places (apparently an earlier lettering); the quotes used here avoid that label. Vote counts are the recorded chamber passage votes on the Legislature's action log (the House amended the resolution; the log shows no separate recorded Senate concurrence vote). No fiscal note, registered campaign committees or finance totals were found for Amendment J.
Sources · 3
Researched 2026-10-19. Green citations are official government records.
- 1.2026 Ballot Question Pamphlet · South Dakota Secretary of State Official record
- 2.SJR 503 (2025): bill actions and votes · South Dakota Legislature · 2026-10-19 Official record
- 3.Closing a 'loophole' or 'fearmongering' about noncitizens voting: South Dakota's Amendment J · South Dakota Searchlight · 2026-10-16 News report