South Carolina

BREAKING: Justice Department Blocks South Carolina's Voter ID Law

Ryan J. Reilly | December 23, 2011, 4:03PM

Updated: Dec. 23, 2011, 5:28PM

The U.S. Department of Justice will block the voter ID provisions of an election law passed in South Carolina earlier this year because the state's own statistics demonstrated that the photo identification requirement would have a much greater impact on non-white residents, DOJ said in a letter to the state on Friday.

The decision places the federal government squarely in opposition to the types of voter ID requirements that have swept through mostly Republican-controlled state legislatures.

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: Bradley Schlozman, DOJ, DOJ Civil Rights Division, Justice Department, South Carolina, Voter Identification, Voter suppression, Voting, Voting Rights Act, voter fraud, voter intimidation

South Carolina

Justice Department Facing Deadline On Voter ID Decision

Ryan J. Reilly | December 22, 2011, 6:00AM

The Justice Department has to decide by Tuesday whether South Carolina has proven that their new voter ID law doesn't deny or abridge the voting rights of residents on the basis of race, nationality or language -- a decision bound to enrage either the mostly progressive opponents of voting restrictions or the mostly conservative backers of the identification measure, depending on how they come down on the matter.

Read more »

PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Topics: South Carolina, Voter Identification, Voter suppression, Voting, Voting Rights Act, voter fraud, voter intimidation