House Passes Voter ID Bill

Today, the South Carolina House of Representatives passed a bill that will help prevent fraud and secure our state’s election process by incorporating the use of picture identification in voting. Modeled after a Voter ID bill passed by the Indiana Legislature, this bill (H. 3418) is a key element of the SC Secure Election Act, a major agenda item for the House Republican Caucus.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, lead sponsor of the legislation, said, “The Heart of democracy is the right to vote. If we do not protect that voting right from fraud and abuse, we are not protecting the ideals of democracy.”

Other states have also instituted Voter ID provisions. In Indiana, the requirement to show a picture ID when voting was challenged and the case went all the way to our nation’s highest court. Last year, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Indiana’s law was Constitutional and did not place an undue burden on the voter.

“To say that requiring a picture ID to vote creates an undue burden is absurd,” said Speaker Harrell. “A picture ID is required to do just about anything in our society, except to vote.”