Voter Photo ID

LWVSC urges federal court to reject South Carolina's restrictive voter ID law, March 27, 2012

South Carolina Registered Voters Without DMV-Issued Photo ID Card--Demographic information statewide, county by county, and precinct by precinct for registered voters who do not have a photo identification card issued by SC Department of Motor Vehicles, as of 9/22/2011. Link

U.S. Department of Justice denies pre-clearance to SC Voter photo ID law, Dec. 23, 2011

LWVSC Action on Voter Photo ID

• LWVSC signs on to supplemental comment letter on South Carolina voter photo ID law, 12/7/11
• LWVSC joins voting rights groups in objecting to South Carolina photo identification law in comment letter to U.S. Dep't. of Justice, 8/5/11
• LWVSC Op-ed: NAACP not alone in fight vs. photo ID, Post and Courier, 8/1/11
• Advocates ask feds to reject voter ID, Post and Courier, 8/6/11
• South Carolina Voter Photo ID--Talking Points(long version) (short version)
• Protecting Voting Rights + LWVSC letter to the editor
• Further LWVSC documents

Protect Our Vote Initiative

The League of Women Voters of South Carolina has adopted a voter outreach initiative. The project's mission is to educate and empower local Leagues and communities to assist registered voters in securing photo ID and to register new voters.

There is much that the League can do, even though the law cannot go into effect until it has been precleared by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

We can assist citizens who are concerned that the pending law may impact their voting rights with submitting comments to DOJ. We can also register lots of voters and include information about changing in voting procedures in our registration drives. Voter photo ID laws have a disproportionate and unfair impact on low-income individuals, racial and ethnic minority voters, senior citizens, voters with disabilities and others who do not have a government-issued ID or the money to acquire one. Thus, it is important for the League and our community partners to reach out directly and through our networks to everyone in our state.

The following information is being provided as a service to the citizens of South Carolina:

• Save All Votes Initiative--Description
• South Carolina Voter Photo ID Presentation for use at League and community gatherings. Power Point presentation. PDF version
• Voter ID Information Sheet--Facts about the new law
• Voter Questionnaire with instructions for submission--Designed for use at community gatherings, this can be completed with a League interviewer or by the citizen working alone. In either case it's important to make sure that the completed form is returned to DOJ at one of the contact points provided in the instructions.
• Take-Away Flyer for Voters--Can be printed 2-sided and folded twice for reference for voters.

Additional Resources:

• Pointers for Understanding the Application of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to Photo ID Laws (produced by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law) This information is helpful for individuals and groups that want to submit comments to DOJ.
• Table: S.C. registered voters without DMV-issued photo ID (1/10)
• Map: Percentage of registered voters without drivers license or S.C. photo ID card, by county

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: May 11, 2012 13:42 PDT.

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