COLUMBIA, S.C. — A civil rights organization is advocating for the reopening of voter registration in South Carolina for close to 1,900 teenagers. This follows an oversight by the state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), which failed to alert election officials that these teenagers had indicated a desire to register while applying for their driver’s licenses.
These teenagers were 17 at the time of their DMV visits but would reach the age of 18 by Election Day. Unfortunately, a technical error in the DMV’s system failed to recognize these individuals as eligible voters and did not provide them with an additional electronic form to verify their citizenship status and eligibility to vote.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) initiated legal action on Tuesday, coinciding with the start of early voting in the state. They presented various options for how these teenagers could be registered in time to cast their votes. Judge Daniel Coble indicated he would deliver a ruling later on Friday after he had heard the arguments from both sides.
“This case revolves around a crucial constitutional right,” stated ACLU attorney Allen Chaney. “First-time voters are at risk of being unjustly barred from an important election.” However, legal representatives for the South Carolina Election Commission, the DMV, the General Assembly, and the Governor’s Office contended that while they empathize with the youth potentially missing the opportunity to vote in a presidential election, addressing registration issues at this late stage would be impractical as election offices were preoccupied with early voting procedures.
The legal team for the state explained that the identification process for these potential voters, including verifying their eligibility and adding them to the voter rolls, was impossible to complete before the upcoming general election. “None of this can occur prior to this general election,” remarked state Election Commission attorney Michael Burchstead.
Although nearly 6,000 more teenagers affected by the same glitch managed to register after realizing that their applications were incomplete, the issue first came to light through the actions of a 17-year-old who identified the problem and informed his mother. She subsequently notified a Democratic lawmaker, prompting the current lawsuit.
State attorneys argued that some responsibility fell on the teenagers to ensure they had registered before the deadline earlier in the month. Yet the ACLU contended that as first-time voters, these adolescents may not have understood that checking a box indicating “yes, I wish to register” did not guarantee their registration.
“They were not properly registered and will remain unaware until Election Day,” Chaney emphasized.
Judge Coble acknowledged the urgency and pledged a swift ruling. In the initial four days of early voting in South Carolina, over 511,000 votes had been cast, which represents approximately 15% of eligible voters.
Earlier this month, Coble extended the registration deadline by about a week due to significant damage and power outages caused by Hurricane Helene. He noted on Friday that this extension was due to “an act of God, not an act of man.”
The DMV has collaborated with the ACLU to assess the scope of the issue, reviewing each application that fell within the specified criteria to determine if the teen had clicked on the registration box.
Additionally, state attorneys stated their commitment to preventing similar issues in the future. “We align with the ACLU in our objective of ensuring free, fair, safe, and secure elections,” expressed Kevin Hall, legal counsel for South Carolina Senate President Thomas Alexander.