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.”

SC Dems Oppose Photo ID Bill

S.C. House Republicans took a step backward with today’s passage of a bill which requires citizens to present a state-issued photo ID before they can vote, said Carol Fowler, chair of the S.C. Democratic Party.

The bill would primarily affect those who don’t have a driver’s license because they’re too poor to own a car or too old to drive one. House Republicans provided no reason to justify the measure, and no means to pay for it. The bill now moves to the S.C. Senate.

“South Carolinians stood for hours in lines last fall to exercise their right to vote. Now State House Republicans who so often decry needless government bureaucracy are creating yet another waiting line for voters and another expense for taxpayers,” Fowler said.

“Republicans saw the massive turnout at the polls last November, and they’re running scared,” Fowler said. “This is their attempt to impose a new burden on voters, draining citizens’ time and running up the costs of elections.”

“Democrats will continue to fight this injustice in the Senate,” she said. “We will push for a sensible plan that drops the House’s new bureaucratic hurdle to voting, and will allow citizens to vote early – without excuse. Our goal is to make voting easier and less costly both for citizens and taxpayers.”

Around the country, Republicans have been introducing photo ID bills, which they justify by raising the specter of voter fraud. Yet, in S.C. House hearings on the bill, election officials and even Republican supporters of the bill said they were not aware of any instances of the kind of voter fraud that the photo ID restriction would supposedly prevent.

Photo identification requirements have become the most common way to suppress votes based on “imprecise and inflated claims of ‘voter fraud,’” according to a 2007 report by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. “Such photo ID laws are effective only in preventing individuals from impersonating other voters at the polls — an occurrence more rare than getting struck by lightning,” the study says.

Senate Passes Stimulus Package

From Associated Press via MSNBC

President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan has passed the Senate and is on its way to difficult House-Senate negotiations.

Just three Republicans helped pass the plan on a 61-37 vote and they're already signaling they'll play hardball to preserve more than $108 billion in spending cuts made last week in Senate dealmaking. Obama wants to restore cuts in funds for school construction jobs and help for cash-starved states.

Those cuts are among the major differences between the $819 billion House version of Obama's plan and a Senate bill costing $838 billion. Obama has warned of a deepening economic crisis if Congress fails to act. He wants a bill completed by the weekend.

The bill backed by the White House survived a key test vote in the Senate Monday despite strong Republican opposition, and Democratic leaders vowed to deliver legislation for President Barack Obama's signature within a few days.

Now, a conference committee has to hash out hte differences between the House and Senate versions to come up with one bill to send to the President. The differences between the House and Senate versions are detailed here. More here.

The three Republicans voting yesterday to end debate on the Senate bill were Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. So they are probably the three who voted for the package as well. Details of the vote will be posted on senate.gov in about an hour.

Online Fan Vote to Decide Greatest Racing Moment in Lowe's Motor Speedway

CONCORD, N.C. (Jan. 28, 2009) - As Lowe's Motor Speedway celebrates
50 years of racing, fans will determine the greatest racing moment in the
speedway's history by logging onto www.coke600.com to vote for their favorite Lowe's Motor Speedway memory.

The top moments in Lowe's Motor Speedway history have been narrowed
down to 32 and condensed into short video clips that fans can view prior to
making their choice. The online selection process pairs those memorable
video clips in a bracket-style voting system with new video matchups
revealed each week. The moment that receives the most votes in each bracket
pairing will advance to the next round until only the top vote-getter
remains.

The greatest racing moment in Lowe's Motor Speedway history as
selected by the fans will be announced during the week leading up to the
25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on May 16.

To view the greatest racing moments in Lowe's Motor Speedway history
and vote for their favorite, fans should visit www.coke600.com.

Tickets to the May 16 Sprint All-Star Race and Coca-Cola 600 on May
24 can be purchased online at www.lowesmotorspeedway.com or by calling
1-800-455-FANS.

What Will Your FCC Chair Look Like?

The American public is inviting applications for the position of chair of the Federal Communications Commission. We seek a dynamic candidate who will champion the public interest at a time of hope and transformation for our national media.

The Web site FressPress.Net invites people to vote on the priorities of the new FCC Chair that President-Elect Obama will select.

Go here to vote.

Darlington County Turnout

Of the 38,536 registered voters in Darlington County, 29,568 cast ballots, a whopping 76.73 percent!

Record Turnout

With an overwhelming number of voters participating in the voting process, the South Carolina State Election Commission estimates a record turnout that is likely to exceed the previous record set in 2004 of 70 percent.

“This is a huge testament to the citizens of South Carolina and their ability to come together at this dynamic time,” said Marci Andino, executive director of the South Carolina State Election Commission. “The fact that this state has more than 2.5 million registered voters, most of whom participated in today’s General Election, is monumental. We appreciate their preparation, enthusiasm and patience as they went to the polls and cast their ballots today.”

“More than 20,000 poll workers and election officials across the state worked diligently in the months and weeks leading up to this election to ensure the day ran as smoothly as possible and we are thankful for their tireless efforts,” added Andino.

The record for total number of voters participating in an election was set in 2004 (1,631,000 voted, 70% participation).

The record for turnout based on percentage of registered voters was set in 1992 (1,237,000 voted, 80% participation).

Vote Today!

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today.

You have 3 minutes in the voting booth, so know ahead of time how you plan to vote. For information on the Races and state Constitutional amendments, click here.

Also, there have been reports of massive turnout in our area. One woman waited nearly an hour to vote. Be prepared to wait in line ... and bring an umbrella!

10 am Absentee Ballot Counts

As of 10 a.m. this morning, almost 350,000 people have voted absentee in South Carolina. Darlington County has seen more than 6,000 absentee votes.

Absentee voting continues at the voter registration office until 5 p.m. today.

Name That Test

South Carolinians to select name of state’s new testing system; deadline to vote is Labor Day

The direct link to the online ballot is here.

State Superintendent of Education Jim Rex announced today that South Carolinians will name the state’s new standardized testing system, which will replace PACT tests that have been administered statewide since 1999.

Voters can visit the South Carolina Department of Education’s web site and cast their ballots on line. The deadline to vote is Labor Day, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m., and Rex will announce the winning name on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

Society Hill Special Election Results

A special election was held yesterday, July 8th, to fill two seats on Society Hill's Town Council. Tommy Bradshaw was elected by 148 votes as was Cameron Michael with 87 votes.

Opponents included Robert Hancock (53) and Robbie Burns (33).

The special election was prompted as two seats on council became available when Valencia Brewington was named Mayor of Society Hill and Les Baker stepped down as Mayor Pro-Tem.

Society Hill Town Council members are as follows: Tommy Bradshaw, Charlotte Chapman Edwards, Richard Gainey, Denise Douglas, Cameron Michael and Deborah Harrell.

VOTE TODAY

Polls close at 7. Darlington County is voting today on the sheriff's race. Results will be posted here and at here tonight.

VOTE TODAY

Darlington County residents can vote today in the sheriff's runoff race.
Check here later tonight for results.
Also, a full story will be posted Wednesday morning to the News & Press main Web site www.newsandpress.com.