The Department of Justice is set to block South Carolina’s new voter identification law — which some called discriminatory — because of a strong potential non-white residents will be more greatly affected at the polls, according to a report by Talking Points Memo.
The state signed the law, which requires voters to show photo ID at the polls, into effect in May. A few months later, the department launched an investigation into the impact the new law might have on non-white South Carolinians. According to TPM, the department’s civil rights division found “a significant racial disparity in the data provided by South Carolina.” In addition, the data provided to the department by South Carolina showed that people of color were 20 percent more likely than white voters to not have the photo ID required by the new law, TMP reports.
The much-debated law requires voters to provide a driver’s license, passport, military ID card or a yet-to-be-developed voter ID card.
Many states imposed new voter laws this year, prompting praise from some Republicans and calls for investigations from Democrats. Since October, the department has objected to changes to voter provisions in five states around the country, said Thomas E. Perez, chief of the civil rights division.
In a speech last week in Texas, Attorney General Eric Holder said the department would be aggressive in its review of the new voter laws around the country, according to the New York Times.
“Although I cannot go into detail about the ongoing review of these and other state-law changes, I can assure you that it will be thorough — and it will be fair,” he said, according to the report.
