An Act to revise provisions associated with residency for voting purposes.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota:

Section 1. That § 12-1-4 be AMENDED:

12-1-4. For the purposes of this title, the term, residence, means the place in which a person is domiciled as shown by "resident" means an individual who maintains an actual fixed permanent dwelling, establishment, or any other abode to which the person returns after a period of absence where the individual lives and usually sleeps, for at least thirty consecutive days. An individual who is a resident of this state remains a resident during an absence from this state, if the individual intends to return to this state after a period of absence. An individual may only be a resident of one place.

A person who leaves the residence and If an individual who is a resident of a county of this state goes into another county of this state or another state or territory for a temporary purpose has not changed residence, the individual remains a resident of the county.

A person An individual is considered to have gained residence in any be a resident of the county or municipality of this state in which the person individual actually lives, if the person individual has no present intention of leaving.

A person retains residence in An individual remains a resident of this state until another residence has been gained. If a person the individual becomes a resident of another state. If an individual moves from this state to another state or territory with the intention of making it the person's permanent home, the person loses residence in this state becoming a resident of that state or territory for any purpose, the individual is no longer a resident of this state.

Section 2. That § 12-4-1 be AMENDED:

12-4-1. A person who maintains residence, as provided in § 12-1-4, within the state for at least thirty days prior to submitting the registration form, and who An individual who is a resident of this state, as defined in § 12-1-4, and has or will have the qualifications of a voter prescribed by § 12-3-1 or 12-3-1.1, or who will have such qualifications at the next ensuing municipal, primary, general, or school district election, is entitled to be registered as a voter in the election precinct in which the person maintains residence individual is a resident.

A person An individual eligible to vote may vote only in the election precinct where the person maintains residence.

Section 3. That § 12-4-1.2 be AMENDED:

12-4-1.2. The voter registration form must include a certification of voter eligibility by which the applicant attests, under the penalty of perjury, that the applicant:

(1) Is a citizen of the United States;

(2) Will be eighteen years or older on or before the next election;

(3) Has maintained residence in South Dakota for at least thirty days prior to submitting the registration form Is a resident of the state of South Dakota;

(4) Has not been judged mentally incompetent;

(5) Is not currently serving a sentence for a felony conviction; and

(6) Authorizes the cancellation of a previous registration, if applicable.

Section 4. That § 12-18-10 be AMENDED:

12-18-10. If a person an individual makes an application for ballots a ballot, or if an absentee ballot has been cast, the person's individual's right to vote at that poll and election may be challenged only as to the person's identity as the person registered whom the person claims to be or on grounds that within fifteen days preceding the election the person has whether the individual:

(1) Is actually the individual registered to vote;

(2) Has been convicted of a felony or declared by proper authority;

(3) Was declared to be mentally incompetent by a proper authority; or

(4) Is a resident of this state, as defined in § 12-1-4.

The proceedings shall to challenge an individual's right to vote must be conducted before the precinct superintendent and precinct deputies, who shall determine from the evidence presented whether or not the person the individual is permitted to vote and the. The members of the precinct election board shall indicate beside the individual's name on the registration list the ground stated and the result of the precinct election board's decision.

Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 12-19:

If an individual applies to register as a voter of this state using only the address of a commercial mail receiving agency, mail forwarding service, or other post office box as the individual's residence address, without providing a description of the location of the individual's habitation, the individual does not meet the requirements to be a resident of this state for the purposes of this title, and may be registered only as a national voter. If an individual does not meet the requirements to be a resident of this state but is eligible to vote pursuant to this section, the county auditor must indicate that the individual is eligible to vote only as a national voter.

The county auditor shall prepare a ballot that lists only the names of the candidates for United States senator, United States representative, and president and vice president of the United States, as certified by the secretary of state pursuant to § 12-8-8, and the names of the presidential electors designated for each candidate. The county auditor or member of the precinct election board shall provide the ballot to any individual who has been designated as a national voter, by the county auditor.

For the purposes of this section, "national voter" means an individual who is eligible to vote in elections for presidential electors, United States senator, or United States representative at a primary, runoff, special, or general election.

Section 6. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 12-20:

The ballot of a national voter, as defined in section 2 of this Act, must be counted with the resident voter ballots of the precinct where the national voter is registered, or in an absentee precinct.