The State Election Board is making sure all South Dakotans know their voting rights. The group mandated the display of signs clarifying the state's new voter identification law at all polling places Wednesday. Under the new regulations, signs will have to be posted at all polling places explaining the identification requirement. Voters who do not have a photo ID will still be able to cast their ballots in the upcoming election. They will be required to sign a sworn affidavit. The decision comes after complaints in an early June special election in the state. Democrat Stephanie Herseth was elected to fill a vacated seat in the House of Representatives. Her victory is attributed largely to Sioux voter-turnout, but some say the margin of Herseth's victory could have been wider. Shortly after the polls closed, reports were made that some voters without photo ID were being turned away, apparently as the result of some confusion surrounding South Dakota's new voter ID law. This week's mandate should help to clarify the law. The state's election board approved regulations to post explanatory signs at each polling place's entrance and in the voting areas themselves. The language of the signs, which must be printed in a minimum of 36-point type, is as follows:
- Please Read. To vote, you must either
· Sign an affidavit which will be given to you.
Accepted forms of photo identification include any one of the following:
· A SD driver license or nondriver ID; or
· A US government photo ID; or
· A tribal photo ID; or
· A photo ID from a SD high school or SD accredited institution of higher education. [more
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