STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

March 15, 1974

Mrs. Grace Mickelson
State Senator
Rapid City, South Dakota 57701

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 74-09

Housewife of a member of military forces stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base is entitled to register as a voter in Pennington County.

Dear Mrs. Mickelson:

In your request for an opinion of this office, you have presented this question:

Is the housewife of a member of the military forces stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base situated in Pennington County entitled to register as a voter in that county?

SDCL 12-3-1 provides:

12-3-1. Every person resident of this state who shall be of the agen of eighteen years and upwards, not otherwise disqualified, who shall have complied with the provisions of law relating to the registration of voters shall be entitled to vote at any election of this state.

SDCL 12-4-1 provides: (Chapter 118, 1974 Session Laws)

12-4-1. Every person residing within the state who has the qualifications of an elector prescribed by §12-3-1 or §12-3-1.1, or who will have such qualifications at the next ensuing municipal, primary, general or school district election, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter in the voting precinct in which he resides.

SDCL 12-3-3.1 provides:

12-3-3.1. No person residing on an area within the boundaries of this state which has been ceded to, or acquired by, the federal government shall be denied the right to vote in elections of this state or of the county, municipality, school district or special district wherein such area lies if such person is otherwise qualified to vote in such election or elections.

In Evans v. Cornmann, 398 U.S. 419, 90 S. Ct. 1752, 26 L.Ed. 2d 370 (1970), the United States Supreme Court held that persons living on the grounds of a federal enclave located within a county of a certain state cannot be denied the right to vote for the reason that this would deny that person the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 1971-72 AGR 159, 161. Also see Dunn v. Blumstein, 405 U.S. 330, 92 S. Ct. 995, 31 L.Ed. 2d 349.

Assuming that the housewife residing on the premises of Ellsworth Air Force Base is of the age of eighteen and upwards (SDCL 12-3-1) and that area has been ceded to, or acquired by, the federal government, the answer to your question is, YES, she is entitled to register as a voter in Pennington County.

Respectfully submitted,

Kermit A. Sande
Attorney General