South Carolina passes Voter ID bill (w/ related video)

Voters in South Carolina now will have to present identification at the polls. Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill, which aims to reduce voter fraud, into law on Wednesday, May 18. Under its provisions, voters will be required to present a driver’s license or other valid form of photo ID to a poll manager before casting their ballots. If they cannot provide ID, or if the poll manager disputes the legitimacy of the ID presented, the law allows the person to cast a provisional ballot that can be reviewed later. It also allows exceptions for a religious objection to being photographed or if the voter suffers from a reasonable impairment that prevents him from obtaining photograph identification.

“This new law is very important, not just for South Carolina, but because I have heard from people across the country about how impressed they are that we took it upon ourselves to secure the integrity of our election process,” Haley said after signing the bill. “If you have to show a picture ID to buy Sudafed, if you have to show a picture ID to get on an airplane, you should show a picture ID when you vote.”

State House Speaker Bobby Harrell called the signing of the new law “a victory for everyone in South Carolina who has been working to eliminate fraud and make our state’s election process more secure.” “With the bill becoming law today, I hope the [U.S.] Department of Justice will move swiftly in granting our state’s secure election law the same preclearance they gave to Georgia’s Voter ID law last year,” Harrell said in a statement. “That way all South Carolinians can go to the polls this next election day knowing their vote has not been compromised.”

Read more about South Carolina’s Voter ID law or watch the video below.