Justice Department rejects S. Carolina voter ID law

I suspect as the heat is turned up on this issue, the DOJ will be very busy. There are 39 states that have passed new legislation surrounding voter rights and voter ID. Most of the changes have been clothe in the rhetoric of protection from 'voter fraud'. However, a recent study has shown that there is no data to support such a claim. I am glad that DOJ is listening to the people on this one.

The Justice Department has blocked South Carolina's new voter ID law from taking effect, claiming that the measure will put an unfair burden on minority voters.

"However analyzed, the state’s data demonstrate that non-white voters are both significantly burdened by [the photo ID requirement] in absolute terms, and also disproportionately unlikely to possess the most common types of photo identification among the forms of identification that would be necessary for in-­person voting under the proposed law," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez wrote in a letter delivered to the office of South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson just as official Washington shut down for the Christmas holiday.

As a jurisdiction with a history of discrimination in voting, South Carolina is required to submit changes in voting procedures to the Justice Department or a court for clearance under the Voting Rights Act before such changes can take effect.

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