Groups happy about extention of SC Voter Registration Deadline

A South Carolina state court issued an order on Oct. 2, 2018, extending the state’s voter registration deadline through Oct. 17, 2018, after a coalition of voting rights advocates urged the South Carolina Election Commission to take action in order to ensure that South Carolinians hard hit by the devastation from Hurricane Florence and its aftermath would have a reasonable opportunity to register to vote in time for the upcoming mid-term election. The Coalition included the ACLU of South Carolina, SC Progressive Network and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Would-be voters should not be denied a reasonable opportunity to register to vote in the wake of a devastating natural disaster, such as Hurricane Florence,” said Julie Houk, Senior Special Counsel in the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee. “The court decision extending the voter registration deadline helps ensure that voting-eligible South Carolinians will be able to participate the November 6th midterm election.” “In granting the State of South Carolina’s motion for the extension of the voter registration deadline to Oct. 17, 2018, the court recognized the fundamental right to vote should not be denied to South Carolinians struggling to recover from the aftermath of this devastating storm,’” said Susan Dunn, legal director of the ACLU of South Carolina. “We are pleased that the state was receptive to the needs of its citizens in moving the court for this order on an expedited basis.” Brett Bursey, Executive Director of the SC Progressive Network, underscored that the initiative to extend the voter registration period came from the three organizations that have been running South Carolina’s nonpartisan Election Protection hotline and field work since 2008. “The State Election Commission and the Attorney General’s office worked with us to ensure that South Carolina citizens, still recovering from Hurricane Florence, are able to register and vote in the midterm elections. That kind of cooperation in these hyper-partisan times is a testament to building healthy relationships between the citizen advocates and government workers.” “The NAACP is pleased that the State of South Carolina has recognized that the right to vote should not be forfeited as a result of a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Florence, said Bradford M. Berry, General Counsel for the NAACP. “We hope that all voting-eligible South Carolinians who have not yet registered to vote, or need to change their voting address will now have an opportunity to do so, as they work hard to resume their lives in the aftermath of this storm.” If prospective applicants have any questions about the court’s order, they may call the national, nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE for additional information.