Leadership and Civic Engagement
Share Your Thoughts: June 30th Hearing on Voter Registration Rolls
by WREN Staff/Lynn Teague, VP for Issues and Action, League of Women Voters of SC on Jun 25, 2021
On Wednesday, June 30, 2021 at 9:00 AM the Ad Hoc Committee on the State Election Commission will hear public input on the State Election Commission’s process for maintaining the accuracy of voter rolls.
The current State Election Commission (SEC) processes reflect best practices in maintaining the voter registration rolls and multiple investigations have produced no evidence that there is a problem leading to voting irregularities in South Carolina. Any change in process that threatens to remove qualified electors from the rolls is unacceptable. Currently “inactive” voters and even “archived” voters can vote easily in South Carolina. This should not change. Purging voters from the list in a way that prevents easy reinstatement is a method of voter suppression. Excessive purges of legitimate voters have led to voter suppression in other states.
Why does this matter to WREN?
WREN is committed to strengthening our democracy and building political power for gender justice. Voting is a central principle of a democracy. We must increase access to democracy by eliminating all forms of voter suppression and removing barriers to the franchise.
What can you do?
The House committee will take public testimony on June 30 at 9:00 AM in Room 110 of the Blatt Building. The deadline to sign up to testify in-person has passed, but the committee is still accepting public comments. You can submit a comment here.
To assist those working on comments, the League of Women Voters has prepared a background document with information on the history of inquiries into SC’s voter registration rolls and the details of current practices. It is available here.
(Special thanks to the League of Women Voters for compiling this information)