Voting Rights Act

The Voting Wars Could Get Bloody

Ryan J. Reilly | March 19, 2012, 4:56AM

The key electoral battle in 2012 might be less about who you cast a ballot for, than about whether you get to cast a ballot at all.

Yes, the voting wars are heating up just in time for the 2012 elections. And between the Justice Department's opposition to voter ID laws in two states and several other state and federal cases brought against such laws by various civil rights organizations, the battles are only just beginning.

The Justice Department has already blocked restrictive voting laws in South Carolina, Florida and Texas, and state suits in response may see the Supreme Court take up a direct challenge to the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act this year.

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Ken Ard

No Game: Playstation Buying Lieutenant Gov Indicted For Ethics Violations

Ryan J. Reilly | March 9, 2012, 2:12PM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

Lieutenant Gov. Ken Ard, who announced his resignation Friday morning, was charged by a state grand jury with seven violations of state ethics laws.

In addition to purchasing a number of personal items using campaign funds, Ard was charged with donating his own money to his campaign -- which is allowed under South Carolina law -- but making it look like it came from others to create the impression he had strong support in the state.

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Ken Ard

South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Resigns After Spending Campaign Money On Playstation, iPads

Ryan J. Reilly | March 9, 2012, 10:20AM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

South Carolina Lt. Gov. Ken Ard, who spent campaign money on a Playstation, women's clothing, iPads and his wife's cell phone bill, will submit his resignation on Friday morning.

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South Carolina

SC County GOP: If You've Had Pre-Marital Sex, You Can't Be A Republican

Jillian Rayfield | March 5, 2012, 2:04PM

Before you can join the Laurens County Republican Party in South Carolina and get on the primary ballot, they ask that you pledge that you've never ever had pre-marital sex -- and that you will never ever look at porn again.

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Paul Clement

Why South Carolina's Voter ID Suit Could Be Bound For The Supreme Court

Ryan J. Reilly | February 8, 2012, 6:05AM

Paul Clement is the former Solicitor General of the United States and the guy conservatives go to when there's a Supreme Court case on the line.

So it's not surprising that it was Clement's signature that ended up on the complaint filed on behalf of the state of South Carolina this week, in a suit against Attorney General Eric Holder over DOJ's decision to block the state's voter ID law because of the disparate impact the state's numbers show it will have on minority voters.

It's a suit that supporters hope will not only enshrine South Carolina's voter ID requirement as the unquestioned law of the state, but that will also do away with federal restrictions placed on states like South Carolina because of their clear history of racial discrimination.

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Southern Republican Leadership Conference

Did Major GOP Group Skip Out On $200K Hotel Bill?

Jillian Rayfield | February 7, 2012, 5:54AM

The organizers of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference are being sued by a South Carolina hotel for allegedly skipping out on a $200,000 tab. An attorney for the conference says the charges are "spurious, and not very well thought out."

The Charleston Place hotel in SC filed suit in the Charleston County Court of Common Pleas last week, claiming that the SRLC has an outstanding balance of $227,872 for the conference they held this year from January 19-22.

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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.

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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.

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South Carolina

DOJ Files Suit Against South Carolina Immigration Law, Says Others Could Come Soon

Ryan J. Reilly | October 31, 2011, 5:10PM

The Justice Department filed suit on Monday to block South Carolina's immigration law, saying that the law interfered with the federal government's supremacy on the issue of immigration.

South Carolina's statute, enacted on June 27, criminalizes the presence of an illegal immigrant in the state. DOJ's complaint says that the Constitution and federal law "do not permit the development of a patchwork of state and local immigration policies throughout the country." South Carolina's law, DOJ officials claimed, "clearly conflicts with the policies and priorities adopted by the federal government and therefore cannot stand."

"Pushing undocumented immigrants out of one state to another is simply not a solution to our immigration problems," DOJ Assistant Attorney General Tony West said in a press call on Monday. "We believe South Carolina's law... crosses the constitutional line."

West mentioned that DOJ has had discussions with the Attorney Generals of Utah, Georgia and Indiana about their immigration laws.

"The United States will decide whether and when the bring lawsuits challenging particular state laws," West said.

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Voter Identification

S.C. GOP Operative: AP Story Showing Impact Of Voter ID On Blacks 'Proves EXACTLY' Why Law Is Needed

Ryan J. Reilly | October 20, 2011, 1:50PM

Updated: Oct. 20, 3:15PM

The Associated Press put out a story this week showing that South Carolina's voter I.D. law "appears to be hitting black precincts in the state the hardest."

One person who really loved the story was Wesley Donehue, the CEO of Donehue Direct and a political strategist for the South Carolina Senate Republican Caucus, who took to Twitter to write that the story "proves EXACTLY why we need Voter ID in SC."

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Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley's South Carolina To Give Rides To 22 Voters To Get Photo IDs

Ryan J. Reilly | September 27, 2011, 4:15PM

Nikki Haley

Arguing last month that the voter ID law she signed into law in May wasn't discriminatory, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley offered to give voters free rides to obtain their photo ID from the DMV. 22 people took her up on it.

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Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley 'So Wants' To Drug Test People Applying For Jobless Benefits

David Taintor | September 9, 2011, 2:32PM

Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC)

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) doesn't want Florida to have all the fun of drug testing suspicion-less citizens before receiving state benefits.

"I so want drug testing," Haley said on Thursday, according to the Associated Press. "It's something I've been wanting since the first day I walked into office."

And now Haley is trying to make that dream come true, pushing for people applying for jobless benefits to first pass a drug test before receiving any aid, the AP reports.

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Lindsey Graham

Lindsey Graham Backs Federal Voter ID Law, Calls Restrictions 'The Future Of The Country'

Ryan J. Reilly | September 8, 2011, 2:47PM

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Congress should follow in the footsteps of state legislatures and pass a federal voter ID law that requires voters to present photo identification at the polls, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said Thursday.

Graham defended South Carolina's recently passed voter ID law, which is under review by the Justice Department.

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Nikki Haley

DOJ Has More Questions About South Carolina's Voter ID Law

Ryan J. Reilly | August 29, 2011, 6:40PM

Nikki Haley

The Justice Department wants more information about South Carolina's new voter ID law, which was signed by Gov. Nikki Haley (R) in May.

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, South Carolina is required to have changes to the state's voting laws precleared by federal authorities or by a federal court to insure they're not discriminatory.

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South Carolina

Tea Party Chair In SC Posts Joke On Facebook About Killing The Obamas

Jillian Rayfield | August 23, 2011, 10:40AM

The Chair of the Sumter South Carolina Tea Party posted -- and then quickly pulled -- a post on her Facebook page earlier this month that joked about throwing the Obamas out of a helicopter.

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Tea Party

SC Tea Party Leaders Arrested For Selling Pirated Computer Software

Jillian Rayfield | July 27, 2011, 6:00AM

A Tea Party (or Tea P-Arrrrrr!-ty) leader in South Carolina was arrested Tuesday for allegedly selling pirated versions of Microsoft software, Photoshop, and the Rosetta Stone language programs.

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Ken Ard

Grand Jury To Investigate Playstation-Buying SC Lt. Governor

Jillian Rayfield | July 22, 2011, 6:02AM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

The case of Ken Ard (R), the South Carolina Lieutenant Governor who admitted to using campaign funds to buy items like iPads and a Playstation, has been sent to a grand jury for an investigation.

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Ken Ard

SC Attorney General May Investigate Lt. Gov. Who Spent Campaign Cash On A Playstation

Jillian Rayfield | July 8, 2011, 6:00AM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) is reviewing the case of Lieutenant Gov. Ken Ard (R), following a settlement between Ard and the state's Ethics Commission over his illegal campaign expenditures on, among other things, a Playstation, women's clothing, and his wife's cell phone bill.

Wilson requested Ard's file this week "to determine what, if any, prosecutorial action may be warranted," spokesman Mark Plowden said, The State reports. But, Plowden said, "this Review should not be confused with an 'investigation,' in that we have not asked any law enforcement agency to do so at this time. We do not have a time frame."

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South Carolina

SC Lt. Gov. Reimburses Campaign For Cash Spent On Playstation, Women's Clothes

Jillian Rayfield | July 1, 2011, 3:48PM

SC Lieut. Gov. Ken Ard (R)

South Carolina Lt. Governor Ken Ard (R) has settled his 107 ethics violations with the State Ethics Commission, and agreed to pay a $48,400 fine, cover the cost of the investigation, and reimburse his campaign for $12,121 in illegal expenditures.

Among those expenditures, Corey Hutchins of the South Carolina Free Times reports, was Ard's wife's phone bill and more than $3000 at Best Buy for a "Playstation 3, a flat-screen TV, an iPod Touch 8G, and two 3G iPads." Ard initially claimed the purchases were "computer equip" for "campaign and office-related purposes."

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Georgia

Tough Immigration Regulations In Effect In Georgia And South Carolina

Jillian Rayfield | July 1, 2011, 6:00AM

Though a federal judge temporarily blocked parts of Georgia's strict new immigration law this week, the rest of the law will go into effect Friday, including one provision that would penalize people who use a fake ID to get a job with up to 15 years in jail and up to $250,000 in fines.

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South Carolina

SC GOPer: 99% Of Recent Terrorist Acts Were Committed By Muslims

Jillian Rayfield | May 19, 2011, 11:59AM

State Sen. Mike Fair (R-SC)

South Carolina State Sen. Michael Fair (R) doesn't quite seem to know what his proposed sharia ban bill has to do with terrorism, but he does know that "ninety nine percent probably, of the acts of terrorism around the world" have "occurred at the hands of Middle Eastern men who happen to be advocates of the Islam religion."

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South Carolina

Alabama House Passes Arizona-Style Immigration Bill

Jillian Rayfield | April 6, 2011, 11:17AM

Alabama State House and State Rep. Micky Hammon (R)

The Alabama House of Representatives voted Tuesday to pass an immigration bill modeled after Arizona's, that would give law enforcement officials the authority to demand papers from people in cases "where reasonable suspicion exists that a person is an unauthorized alien," and jail those suspected of being in the country illegally until their immigration status can be confirmed.

The bill, which passed the House by a vote of 73-28, makes it a crime to be an illegal immigrant in the state of Alabama, and could lead to trespassing charges for those found to be in the state unlawfully. In Alabama, trespassing carries a sentence of up to a year.

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Sharia

South Carolina Lawmakers Hop On The Sharia Ban Bandwagon

Eric Lach | January 31, 2011, 8:32AM

Lawmakers in South Carolina have introduced a bill that would "prevent a court or other enforcement authority from enforcing foreign law in this state." This effectively makes South Carolina the latest state to consider legislation that would ban sharia law, though one of the bill's sponsors insists its more than that.

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Joe Wilson

Joe Wilson Glad That SC Armory Is No Longer Selling 'You Lie' Gun Part

David Taintor | January 13, 2011, 1:22PM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), whose famous "You Lie" words were engraved on a gun part being sold by a South Carolina armory, is glad to hear the company has suspended the product.

In a letter to Palmetto State Armory President Jamin McCallum, Wilson wrote, "I thank you for quickly suspending sales of the product that uses my words."

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South Carolina

South Carolina Armory Sells Engraved 'You Lie' Gun Part

David Taintor | January 12, 2011, 8:49AM

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

As the debate over the use of violent political rhetoric heats up in the aftermath of the shooting in Arizona that killed six and left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition, a South Carolina gun company may find itself in an uncomfortable position.

Corey Hutchins, a reporter for the South Carolina alt weekly Free Times, reports that a South Carolina gun and accessories company is selling semi-automatic rifle components with the words "You Lie" inscribed on them.

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South Carolina

SC 'Coon Hunter' License Plate Not Offensive, Says Raccoon Hunter

Jon Terbush | January 5, 2011, 8:50AM

To some, the word "coon" is most recognizable as a racial slur. Yet as South Carolina considers issuing specialty plates with "Coon Hunters" written on them, the president of a raccoon hunting organization there says the term is hardly offensive.

"Coon is a word that's in the dictionary," David McKee, president of the South Carolina Coon Hunters Association told TPM. "There are national publications about coon hunting."

True, the dictionary does define coon primarily as an abbreviation for nature's mischievous bandits. Yet the online version of Merriam-Webster notes the common derogatory connotation as well. The site defines coon like this:

1: raccoon 2: usually offensive : black

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Gadsen Flag

SC Reps Propose 'Coon Hunters' And 'Don't Tread On Me' License Plates

Jon Terbush | January 4, 2011, 8:39AM

Forget bumper stickers. South Carolina drivers may soon have a new way to make a political statement while tooling around town in their cars.

As Corey Hutchins reported in the Columbia Free-Times, several lawmakers in the South Carolina State House recently introduced bills that would allow the DMV to issue over a dozen new specialty plates, including one with the Gadsden Flag slogan turned Tea Party rallying cry, "Don't Tread On Me." Among the other proposed plates are ones bearing the words "Coon Hunters" and "Second Amendment" for firearm fans, or, if fishing is more your thing, one with an image of a largemouth bass.

The bills have a long way to go before those plates could become a reality. They're among over 200 measures South Carolina lawmakers pre-filed at the end of last year--a procedure that basically just publicizes what legislators would like to work on in the upcoming session--so they'd have to run the full legislative gambit when the legislature reconvenes January 11.

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Secession

South Carolina NAACP President Rips Secession Ball Gala

David Taintor | December 23, 2010, 8:30AM

Several new details have emerged from the divisive secession ball held Monday in Charleston, South Carolina -- a gala dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the state's signing of the Ordinance of Secession.

About 120 protesters marched in opposition to the event, carrying signs of protest and singing "We Shall Overcome." South Carolina NAACP President Lonnie Randolph, who joined the protest, told TPM in a phone interview this week that he felt the need to speak out against the ball, calling the secession "the greatest act of terrorism" waged on America.

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Civil War

South Carolinians Celebrate 150th Anniversary Of Secession

David Taintor | December 21, 2010, 8:53AM

South Carolinians literally had a ball last night celebrating the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. The secession ball, organized by the Confederate Heritage Trust -- and sponsored by the Sons of Confederate Veterans -- reportedly featured a 45-minute theatrical play re-enacting the signing of the Ordinance of Secession, where South Carolina declared its intention to secede from the union.

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Liqour License

D'oh! South Carolina Inadvertently Bans Beer And Wine Permits

David Taintor | December 6, 2010, 8:54AM

Oops, looks like it could be a pretty dry month in South Carolina. A new law authored by state Rep. Mike Pitts (R) inadvertently bans businesses and individuals from obtaining temporary beer and wine permits.

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Michael Stephen Bowden

Son Of Elderly Man Charged With Threatening President Blames The VA

Rachel Slajda | November 26, 2010, 3:27PM

Michael Stephen Bowden

The son of an elderly South Carolina man who told a Veterans Affairs nurse that he wanted to kill the President says the VA failed his father.

Michael Stephen Bowden, 78, was arrested last week after a VA nurse asked him if he has suicidal thoughts and he responded, "Yes, I would like to shoot the President, then myself." He repeated the threat to law enforcement when they showed up at his house.

His son, Kerry Bowden, tells TPM that his father was crying out for help, and that he was never a real threat.

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Islamophobia

Bacon Strips Spelling Out 'Pig' Left Outside South Carolina Islamic Center

Ryan J. Reilly | October 13, 2010, 9:18AM

Slices of bacon were laid down on a brink walkway to the Florence Islamic Center in Florence, S.C. on Sunday in a manner that spelled out "PIG CHOPS." The incident -- evidently aimed the center because of the Islamic dietary restrictions against pork -- is just the latest in a string of anti-Muslim episodes around the country.

In fact this isn't the first time even this particular mosque has been hit -- earlier this year vandals broke windows in the facility, according to local news station ABC 15.

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Jim DeMint

DeMint: Sexually Active Unmarried Women And Gay Teachers Should Be Barred From Classrooms

Ryan J. Reilly | October 4, 2010, 2:37PM

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)

Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) says that even though "no one" came to his defense in 2004 after he said that gay people and unwed mothers should be banned from teaching, "everyone" quietly told him that he shouldn't back down from his position.

He also implied that not banning gay people and women who have sex before marriage from teaching would be an attack on Christians, and defended his position on banning gay teachers because he holds the same position on women who have sex outside of marriage.

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Alvin Greene

Alvin Greene Indicted On Obscenity Charges

Rachel Slajda | August 13, 2010, 2:22PM

Alvin Greene

South Carolina Senate candidate Alvin Greene (D) has been indicted by a grand jury on two charges relating to an incident last November in which he allegedly showed porn to a college student.

Greene was indicted on one felony count of disseminating obscenity and one misdemeanor count of "communicating an obscene message to another person without consent."

You can read the indictment here.

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Alvin Greene

Alvin Greene's Military Records: A 'Threat To Others' Who Was 'Unable To Express Thoughts Clearly'

Jillian Rayfield | July 22, 2010, 5:06PM

Alvin Greene

Not much is known about surprise Democratic South Carolina Senate nominee Alvin Greene, but military records obtained by the Associated Press provide some insight into Greene's honorable discharge from the Air Force in 2005.

A performance review describes Greene as "unable to express thoughts clearly," and
"not able to adapt to any changes to daily routine."

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Alvin Greene

State Agency Investigating Alvin Greene's Finances

Rachel Slajda | June 28, 2010, 12:03PM

SC-SEN candidate Alvin Greene (D)

The State reports today that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division -- a state agency with subpoena power -- is investigating Senate candidate Alvin Greene's finances.

Investigators will focus on how Greene, an unemployed veteran, came up with the $10,440 filing fee to run for the office. Greene won the Democratic nomination earlier this month without campaigning.

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Alvin Greene

Alvin Greene, The Laura Ingraham Interview

Justin Elliott | June 18, 2010, 3:14PM

SC-SEN candidate Alvin Greene (D)

A bemused Laura Ingraham talked to Alvin Greene today in perhaps the most gratuitously mean Greene interview to date.

The conservative radio show host opened the interview by asking if President Obama, or Harry Reid, or Nancy Pelosi had called to congratulate him. (No, Greene answered, again and again.) Ingraham then asked Greene his stance on the threat of stagflation.

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Alvin Greene

CREW Calls For Investigation Of South Carolina Primary Shenanigans

Christina Bellantoni | June 15, 2010, 2:55PM

SC Sen candidate Alvin Greene (D)

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) today joined Democrats calling for a state criminal investigation into the mysterious candidacy of Senate nominee Alvin Greene. Greene (D-SC) was able to capture 59 percent of the vote and win the party nomination last Tuesday despite having never campaigned. CREW also filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over alleged reporting violations by Greene and two other no-name Democratic candidates in South Carolina.

CREW and others have said the investigation should focus on how Greene came up with the more than $10,000 filing fee. Officials with the watchdog group asked South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster (R) to investigate whether Greene was "induced" to run in a violation of state law. That's an echo of the calls from the state Democratic Party and House Majority Whip James Clyburn, who has suggested Greene's candidacy was part of some sort of conspiracy.

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South Carolina

GOP Operative Hired By S.C. Democrat: There's No Plot Here!

Christina Bellantoni | June 15, 2010, 10:23AM

Preston Grisham (inset), former aide to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC)

The Republican consultant at the heart of accusations of mischief in the South Carolina Democratic primary said in an interview he worked for a Democratic candidate because he opposed higher taxes and seemed qualified to serve in Congress.

Preston Grisham, a longtime campaign operative for Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), said his new firm Stonewall Strategies was just getting its first clients together when Gregory Brown gave him a call out of the blue to ask for some help with his primary campaign against House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC). Though the nearly $24,000 in payments (the largest expense for the Brown campaign) are listed as for "marketing," both Grisham and Brown said Stonewall did initial polling and helped Brown set up his Web site. (It was housed here last week but now is a dead link.)

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Alvin Greene

CNN Anchor To Alvin Greene: Are You 'Mentally Sound?' (VIDEO)

Rachel Slajda | June 14, 2010, 5:04PM

Alvin Greene

The Alvin Greene interviews just keep getting weirder, as the interviewers become increasingly desperate to get something -- anything -- out of the Democratic nominee for Senate in South Carolina.

Over the weekend, CNN's Don Lemon asked Greene if he was "mentally sound" and "impaired by anything" during the interview.

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