While Senate Majority Leader John Thune hems and haws about getting the SAVE America Act to President Trump’s desk, his home state just showed him up by passing its own version of it.
The South Dakota House of Representatives passed SB 175 on Wednesday. Much like the SAVE America Act, the SB 175 seeks to require documentary proof-of-citizenship for residents registering to vote. The House approved the measure in a veto-proof 64-3 vote after it successfully cleared the Senate (28-6) last month.
Sponsored by South Dakota Freedom Caucus Vice Chair and GOP Sen. John Carley, the bill now heads to Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden’s desk to be signed into law.
SB 175 stipulates that any individual seeking to register to vote in South Dakota must be a U.S. citizen and have “provided sufficient evidence, as set forth in section 3 of this Act, to demonstrate the individual’s citizenship.” Such persons must also meet criteria such as being a resident of the precinct they’re registering in and being at least 18 years old “[o]n or before the next election.”
The measure goes on to list various forms of documentation that individuals must provide in order to register to vote. This includes driver’s licenses or nondriver identification cards issued by South Dakota or other U.S. states and territories, “provided that the license or identification card was issued after July 1, 2025, and indicates that the individual has provided sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the individual is a United States citizen.”
Legible photocopies of an individual’s birth certificate, passport, and/or tribal identification card are among the other listed forms of acceptable ID. The measure would take immediate effect upon its enaction into law.
Despite being a so-called “red state,” getting SB 175 over the finish line was no small feat.
According to local media, a Senate committee initially killed the measure in a 5-3 vote. It was only after Carley “used a legislative procedure known as a smoke-out to force the committee to send it to the floor” that the bill was able to be placed on the Senate debate calendar and passed.
Carley’s determination to get SB 175 approved and the South Dakota Legislature’s passage of the bill stand in stark contrast to the antics of Thune and the U.S. Senate GOP, which have dragged their collective feet on passing the SAVE America Act. The Senate Republican conference has thus far declined to force Democrats into a talking filibuster to clear the measure through the upper chamber and send it to Trump’s desk for signature.
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
