New S.C. voters would have to show proof of their U.S. citizenship, under a bill that advanced at the State House Thursday.
A state Senate subcommittee signed off on the measure to require South Carolinians registering to vote to present one of several forms of identification, including a driver’s license, birth certificate, passport or tribal verification when registering to vote.
Currently, new voters do not have to show any proof of U.S. citizenship but attest to their citizenship when filling out paperwork to become a voter.
The bill now heads to the Senate’s full Judiciary Committee for further debate.
State Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, who sponsored the bill, says the current system allows illegal immigrants to cast votes.
“We know they have fake IDs. We know they lie to get fake IDs. And the only thing standing between them voting is an oath,” Campsen said. “If you’re willing to lie to get in the country, to stay in the country, then you’re going to lie to get to vote.”
But state Sen. John Scott, D-Richland, said there is no evidence of illegal workers voting in South Carolina.
The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles and Election Commission are looking into data now to determine if there have been any instances of non-citizens voting. Earlier this month, the head of Motor Vehicles said up to 7,000 non-citizens may have voted in recent elections.
(The agencies also are investigating whether more than 950 deceased people cast ballots in elections after their death dates, as the head of Motor Vehicles alleged. The Elections Commission says there is no evidence the dead are voting.)
“Let them work it out and determine if there is a problem first,” said Scott, of the state agencies. “If we’ve got some problems, I want to visit those problems and correct those problems. If we don’t, I don’t want to create another voter ID bill. We’re already in court over the voter ID bill.”
Scott is referring to a state law that would require voters to present a valid S.C. driver’s license or another state-approved photo ID at the polls in order to vote. The U.S. Justice Department has blocked the law’s enactment and a lawsuit over it is headed to court.
Scott said both Campsen’s new bill and the voter ID bill are bad ideas. “They’re just another way of prohibiting people from voting.”
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