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Alongside a federal push to overhaul voting requirements is a new South Dakota law focused on citizenship. Outreach leaders for the state's immigrant populations have warned of negative consequences, while state leaders contend it is another way to ensure election integrity.

At the federal level, President Donald Trump is pressuring congressional Republicans to send him a bill requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. Meanwhile, South Dakota's new statute, signed into law last week, will soon allow voters around the state to challenge the citizenship of other voters.

Taneeza Islam, cofounder and CEO of South Dakota Voices for Peace and South Dakota Voices for Justice, argued there is a body of data showing no pattern of noncitizens trying to vote in U.S. elections.

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"What is the real purpose (of) making it absolutely impossible, it seems, for people of color to have the right to vote?" Islam asked.

Cities in eastern South Dakota are seeing more foreign-born residents, and the American Immigration Council said more than half the state's immigrant population is comprised of naturalized citizens.

Islam warned the law will result in racial profiling and administrative headaches for local offices. Governor Larry Rhoden said the change "further strengthens the security, transparency, and trust in our election system.” State law said eligibility challenges can be filed up to the 90th day before an election.

South Dakota Deputy Secretary of State Tom Deadrick, during testimony leading up to the law's passage, pushed back on the idea Black and Brown populations will be targeted because of their skin color. He suggested South Dakota's process for challenging a person's voting eligibility is thorough enough to quickly discredit challenges with questionable motivations.

"This is not going to be something where somebody can just say, 'Oh, I don't think you're a U.S. citizen.' That doesn't work that way," Deadrick stressed. "It would take something on the order of, 'I know this person has a green card, because they work for me and they're not a U.S. citizen.' It would take something pretty substantial, and then it's going to go to the county auditor."

Supporters of the law have noted there is an appeals process when a challenge is advanced by a county auditor but opponents countered it creates extra burdens for eligible voters with limited resources, potentially blocking them from casting their ballot if they have been unfairly targeted.

The League of Women Voters of South Dakota has raised similar concerns, calling the law "unnecessary, discriminatory, and counterproductive." The change is expected to go into effect for the general election this fall and not the spring primary.