South Dakota House Democrats decry citizenship markers on IDs, classroom Ten Commandments mandate and voter-record changes; call for property-tax review

Members of the South Dakota House Democratic caucus on Tuesday criticized multiple bills moving through the Legislature and outlined priorities for the session, including a study of state tax policy and opposition to measures they say would restrict voting or inject religion into public schools.

The caucus singled out Senate Bill 25, a proposal that would require driver’s licenses to display a person’s citizenship status; Senate Bill 51, a measure to place the Ten Commandments in every public school classroom and add curriculum about their “significance”; and a set of bills to expand education savings accounts (ESAs) and broaden public access to voter registration records.

Why it matters: Democrats said the bills would create new barriers or invite litigation and would distract from priorities such as fully funding public education and addressing property-tax burdens. The caucus also urged local control for school districts and warned that changes to voter-record access could expose residents to harassment.

The caucus’s positions

• Citizenship markers on IDs: A caucus spokesperson said Senate Bill 25 “acts on an imagined problem,” describing the proposal as unnecessary and potentially intimidating to voters. The speaker noted that noncitizen voting is already prohibited and punishable under federal and state law and argued the bill would promote confusion and intimidation rather than strengthen elections.

• Ten Comma…