Bennett County agrees to open satellite office for Native Americans after voting rights probe
From South Dakota Searchlight
Bennett County in South Dakota has agreed to open a satellite office to resolve claims that it violated the voting rights of Native Americans.
The U.S. Justice Department announced the agreement Monday and said it was prompted by claims that the county failed to make its registration and early voting opportunities equally open to Native American voters.
Under the terms of the agreement, Bennett County will operate a satellite office in Allen. It will provide in-person registration and absentee voting services during regular business hours for the full state-mandated 46-day absentee voting period prior to federal, state and county elections.
NEWS: Milestone celebrated in bid to turn South Dakota goldmine into scientific hub
The Justice Department said equal registration and early voting opportunities are required by the federal Voting Rights Act.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the department’s Civil Rights Division, commented on the agreement in a news release.
“It is time to eliminate all barriers standing between Native American voters and the ballot box across our country,” Clarke said. “An inclusive democracy must provide all of its eligible voters access to the full range of voter registration and early voting opportunities required by law.”
The U.S. attorney for the District of South Dakota, Alison Ramsdell, also commented in the news release.
“The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy, but that right is hollow without access to registration and early voting opportunities,” Ramsdell said. “We are grateful Bennett County has agreed to improve voting access for Native Americans in South Dakota by adding and staffing a satellite office in Allen.”
The Justice Department’s investigation found that Native Americans living on tribal lands in the county disproportionally lacked the ability to travel long distances to the county seat of Martin for in-person voting services. Since 2015, the state has made Help America Vote Act funds available to counties like Bennett to establish a satellite office on tribal lands.
NEWS: Two Minnehaha County property owners escape nuisance declarations - one does not
