South Carolina election officials are using flawed data that include dead people as they deal with implementing a new state law requiring that people have photo identification when they cast ballots in person, according to an analysis by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The South Carolina State Election Commission and the DMV had matched data on licenses, ID cards and voter records as part of the new law, now under review by the U.S. Justice Department.
The election agency reported in October that nearly 240,000 active and inactive voters lacked South Carolina driver’s licenses or ID cards. The DMV’s analysis shows that more than 207,000 of those voters live in other states, allowed their ID cards to expire, probably have licenses with names that didn’t match voter records or were dead.
Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said Thursday there are flaws in the data and the agency will eliminate the names of nearly 60,000 deceased people and individuals whose names didn’t match. But the agency would rather cover too many people in its outreach program than not do enough, he said.
Kevin Shwedo, the DMV’s executive director, sent the analysis to the state attorney general’s office on Wednesday as the state responds to Justice Department questions. Because of past voting rights violations, all South Carolina voting and election law changes are reviewed by federal authorities. A decision could come by Tuesday. Whitmire said the commission is preparing to implement the law before the Jan. 21 GOP primary.
The DMV’s findings are important because the Election Commission is preparing to spend taxpayer money to mail written notices to each of the voters identified about the law change and the credentials they must have to vote in person. Meanwhile, voter groups and media outlets were recently told they’d have to pay $25 to get a copy of a list that the DMV now says contains what the agency says is flawed data.
The findings also raise new questions about the commission’s information on voters.
Full Article: APNewsBreak: DMV reports flawed SC voter ID list | CharlotteObserver.com & The Charlotte Observer Newspaper.