SC Judge Won’t Fix Glitch That Denied Young Voters

Democracy Docket reports:

A judge declined to order South Carolina’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and State Election Commission (SEC) to register thousands of young voters whose registrations were mistakenly denied because they were not yet 18 when they registered but would be by Election Day. These voters will not be allowed to cast a ballot this November.

The Richland County judge called the requested relief “too drastic” and said it would “create disorder in the voting system.”

The court held a hearing Friday after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina filed a lawsuit asking that the voters be registered despite the state’s voter registration deadline having passed. South Carolina law allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the next election, and otherwise eligible, to register to vote.

For the past 13 months, when a 17-year-old applied for a driver’s license or state ID and marked that they would like to register, the DMV’s system did not transmit their voter registration application to the SEC. As a result, approximately 17,000 young voters were not registered to vote despite indicating a desire to do so. These voters were also not notified that their registrations had been rejected.

Read the full article.

BREAKING: 11,000 young South Carolinians won’t be able to cast a ballot this year after a judge declined to fix an error that wrongfully denied the registrations of those who were 17-years-old when they registered but would be 18 by Election Day. https://t.co/LyvHoGhkUZ

— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) October 25, 2024