Snowbirds allege poll workers changed them to federal voters without instruction to prove residency

A couple who spend winters in Arizona and the rest of the year in South Dakota said they were given a federal-only ballot and denied a state-local ballot when they tried to vote in person last week at the Minnehaha County administration building.

Instead of retaining their Hartford home when they retired and started traveling south for the winter, Steve Nolte and Kelly Stewart sold their home four years ago, bought a recreational vehicle, and parked it year-round at a South Dakota lakeside resort. They use a mail-forwarding service in Sioux Falls, and they’re registered to vote in Minnehaha County.

Since January, state law requires that anyone who lists only a mail forwarding address or post office box — without describing where they actually live — be registered as a federal-only voter when they register or request an absentee ballot. That means the person can only vote in federal contests such as presidential and congressional races — not other statewide, legislative, county, city or local races or ballot questions. The law was motivated partly by some legislators’ opposition to full-time RVers voting in local and state races.

But poll workers didn’t instruct Nolte and Stewart to fill out a form with a description of their living situation before voting, they said later after learning what should have happened. They also cited a lack of communication about the law and how it would impact voters like them.



https://southdakotasearchlight.com/2026/05/26/snowbirds-allege-poll-workers-changed-them-to-federal-voters-without-instruction-to-prove-residency/