Fowler: Republican’s Voter ID Bill Unnecessary

Carol Fowler, chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, issued the following statement Friday in response to the S.C. House’s passage on Thursday of a bill that would require voters to present government-issued photo IDs in order to vote.

“Once again, South Carolina’s Republican House members have chosen to solve a problem that doesn’t exist instead of doing the important work they were sent to do. Rather than find ways to solve this state’s economic difficulties, they spent their time this week looking for ways to keep folks from voting.

“They were unable to produce any examples of people impersonating voters, but they have passed an expensive requirement that everyone produce a government- issued photo ID at the polls. There has been no case of voter fraud that would have been prevented by this law, but Republican House members spent hours on it anyway.

“Republican House Speaker Bobby Harrell knows the math and is familiar with the odds of voter suppression. He knows that a high percentage of the elderly voters who lack driver’s licenses vote Democratic. For every needless obstacle his party erects, eligible voters will be turned away from exercising their most fundamental right as citizens.

“South Carolina Democrats will continue to fight this issue in the S.C. Senate and wherever else our voices can be heard.”