South Dakota judge allows Native vote apparel at polling places

A South Dakota judge ruled that voters may wear nonpartisan Native Vote apparel while casting ballots.

This decision followed a lawsuit filed by Lonnie Provost, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, who claimed poll workers denied him a ballot in 2024 because of a shirt he wore. The Native American Rights Fund stated that between five to twenty voters filed similar complaints.

In those instances, poll workers told voters to turn their shirts inside out or cover the messaging before they could vote. Samantha Blenche, a senior staff attorney for the Native American Rights Fund, stated that the shirt encourages Native people to vote without supporting any specific candidate or party. Judge Karen Schreier ordered officials to inform poll workers throughout Charles Mix County of the ruling. Following the court decision, Provost cast his vote while wearing the shirt.