LOD: Justice Vetos SC’s ID Law

The US Justice Department refused to approve South Carolina’s strict photo ID requirement for voters, saying the evidence indicated that African Americans registered to vote in the state are 20% more likely not to have one of the required forms of ID than white voters. Federal approval or “pre-clearance” is required for election changes in South Carolina under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which Congress and President Bush renewed in 2006. Forty counties in North Carolina with a history of racial discrimination in elections are also covered by VRA’s pre-clearance provision; that means the harsh photo ID bill passed by Republicans but vetoed by Gov. Perdue would also need federal approval if the GOP ever succeeds in overcoming Perdue’s veto. In response to a public records request from Democracy North Carolina, the State Board of Elections matched its records with DMV records and initially found that about 1 million voters do not have a current driver’s license or state photo ID. After culling out near-matches and people who likely have moved, the number drops to about 460,000 – and African Americans are almost twice as likely as whites not to have the photo ID (12% of black voters lack the ID compared to nearly 7% of white voters). That’s a much greater racial disparity than found in South Carolina, which suggests the NC legislation would also run into trouble on pre-clearance. South Carolina officials say they will challenge the Justice Department’s action, no doubt attacking the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act itself and hoping the uber-biased majority on the current US Supreme Court will comply. The VRA has withstood repeated attack and gained bipartisan support over the years. Last week, a federal judge upheld the VRA’s pre-clearance provisions against a challenge from NC Rep. Stephen LaRoque and others in Kinston, North Carolina. That case could also be headed for the Supreme Court.