Dear Editor,
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina wants to express our strong opposition to the Senate amended version of House Bill 3418. This bill requires voters to obtain and show a photo ID before exercising their right to vote. Unnecessary and costly, this legislation creates barriers that would disenfranchise approximately 178,000 citizens who are currently eligible to vote. In its rush for passage, the Legislature held no public hearings where citizens could comment on this important voting rights bill.
Conservative estimates of the costs to implement H3418 top $1 million annually. The amended Senate version of the bill will dramatically increase this estimate. Not factored in are considerable costs of legal challenges that South Carolina could incur.
Photo ID requirements are one of the most serious threats to our efforts to ensure the right of every eligible American to vote. Current laws have been an effective deterrent. Indeed, there have been no prosecuted cases of voter impersonation in our state in recent history. This legislation is genuinely a solution in search of a problem.
Any proposal that raises barriers to voting is a fear-based approach instead of a fact-based solution. The Legislature should do the right thing by opposing this legislation and instead focus on provisions that would help make election administration more efficient, secure, accurate and accessible.
Barbara Zia
LWVSC President
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