South Dakota exposes voters' information, including public assistance

AI-assisted summary

A new South Dakota law requiring free online access to voter registration data has exposed personal information of thousands of residents.

The data release revealed the identities of public assistance applicants and included optional contact information like phone numbers and email addresses.

Lawmakers who supported the bill claim they did not intend for sensitive information to be disclosed and are now raising concerns.

Thousands of South Dakotans have been publicly labeled as applicants for government assistance and thousands more have had their email address and phone number exposed, due to a new state law and the way the state’s election office is implementing it.

Although the legislation creating the law received some Democratic votes, it’s a product of th