The right to vote is one of the hallmarks of a democratic society. That right is under threat in the SC Legislature for thousands of South Carolina voters. The Senate is considering a proposal to require a photo ID of every South Carolina voter. The purpose is, on the surface, to eliminate voter fraud – to make it impossible for one person to appear at the polls impersonating another. Is this a major problem in our state? Think about the last time you heard of voter fraud in South Carolina. In fact, the South Carolina election commission reports there have been no documented cases of voter fraud in recent history.
The true impact of requiring a photo ID would likely result in reduced voter participation among those 178,000 voters who are currently registered to vote in South Carolina but do not have a photo ID. Many people are accustomed to producing a photo ID when they make a credit card purchase, or when they get on an airplane or when they purchase alcohol or tobacco, and it is easy to assume that everyone has a photo ID. In fact, a disproportionate number of these 178,000 SC voters without one are seniors or disabled persons who no longer drive, or limited-income folks who do not have a car and have no need of a driver’s license, and thus have no photo ID.
Another significant impact of requiring a photo ID is the effect it would have on the South Carolina budget. It is estimated that implementation of a photo ID requirement would cost over a million dollars annually. The legislation calls for the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide free identification cards. The million dollar figure includes not only the cost of the photo cards themselves, but the loss of revenue that comes from DMV-supplied cards that one would normally pay for directly. Also included are expenses for training poll workers and education of voters. This does not include the costs that would be incurred in legal fees, if disenfranchised voters took their cases to court. About a third of states, including South Carolina, require voters to present an ID when they go to the polls, but only a handful require a photo ID. Challenges have been brought in at least 4 states that have passed a photo ID requirement and this requirement will likely be contested in South Carolina, resulting in an even greater drain on the budget.
At the time of this writing, the bill is awaiting a final reading in the Senate, and, if passed, will return to the House for final consideration. Last week, in an effort to reach a compromise and appeal to the non-supporters, it was amended in the Senate to include a 16-day period of no-excuse early voting. (Currently, to qualify to vote absentee, a voter must meet one of 13 criteria; the revised language would eliminate these “excuses.”) There is still time to contact our representatives in the General Assembly to express your wishes on this bill. I hope our legislators will focus on ways that citizens can be encouraged to participate in the democratic process, rather than putting up barriers to limit participation. This appears to be a very expensive solution, to a non-existent problem. If this bill were passed, it would create much damage to the South Carolina budget and damage to trust in government — expenses which South Carolina can ill afford.
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