Every voter should demonstrate that they are who they say they are before voting. That form of proof should not include restrictive documentation requirements like overly burdensome photo ID or redundant proof of citizenship requirements that serve to block millions of eligible American citizens from voting.
The Brennan Center for Justice and the New York Civil Liberties Union submitted a letter to Dutchess County Board of Elections Commissioner Erik Haight, urging him to stop requiring Bard College and Culinary Institute of America students to identify the names of their dormitories on voter registration forms.
In the past two years, states across the country passed a wave of laws that could make it harder to vote. But then voting rights advocates fought back. This comprehensive roundup shows where laws were introduced, where they passed, where they were blocked or blunted, and where they are in effect for the 2012 election.
South Carolina currently has the Automated Registration at DMVs and Online Registration components of Voter Registration Modernization in place.
South Carolina DMVs transfer all registration data to election officials electronically, though they must also mail a signed form to complete the registration. However, if county officials do not receive this form, an individual may still vote a regular ballot if she provides a signature at the polls and poll workers are able to confirm her attempt to register at a DMV.
The Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Project
Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin all passed new voter ID laws in their 2011 or 2012 legislative sessions. We've compiled their vital details on each new law in this document.
