By Brett Bursey

Director, SC Progressive Network

Bills for early voting took torturous turns in both the House and Senate in the last two weeks.

Rep. David Mack’s bill (H 3608), which was written by the Progressive Network, passed out of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Election Law but stripped of the provision that allowed citizens to register during the two-week early voting period.

What looked like a partial victory suffered further defeat when the full House Judiciary Committee amended Mack’s bill to a three-day early voting period and limited all absentee voting to mail-in ballots.

The bill that has gone to the House floor is more restrictive than the present law that allows 30 days of in-person absentee voting at the county election commission office, which caused long lines during the 2008 election. The current version, championed by Rep. Alan Clemmons, would not allow in-person voting at county offices by the elderly and infirm except during the three-day period when everyone else is trying to vote.

To add insult to injury, House rules prohibit Rep. Mack from removing his name from his  own bill that now restricts voting rather than making it easier.

In the Senate, early voting had four hearings in a subcommittee chaired by Sen. Chip Campsen that allowed much more debate. The Network’s bill (S 369 — a companion bill to Rep. Mack’s), sponsored by Sen. Phil Leventis, was supported by testimony from the director of Mecklenburg County’s Board of Elections, who told the committee that One Stop Vote Centers in the Charlotte area had bipartisan support and saved money.

The Network’s early voting bill, introduced in 2007, has been modeled after the NC practice that allows early voting at multiple locations and also allows citizens to register. Mecklenburg County is a good example for South Carolina, as it uses the exact same voting machines as we do.

In subcommittee, Campsen pushed for three days of early voting, restricted to the county office. When the vote was called, we were gratified by the vote of Sen. Ray Clearey, who voted with Sen. John Scott for 15 days of early voting at multiple locations.

This victory was tempered by the majority vote that photo IDs would be required of voters. This recommendation was passed out of the full Senate Judiciary Committee on May 14, over the objection of Democrat senators.

While debate on both the House and Senate versions of the bill are scheduled for May 19, legislation on early voting is not expected to pass this year.

As long as photo ID is tied to the early voting bill, Democrat senators are promising to kill the bill. While photo IDs would only prevent someone from impersonating another voter at the polls — a crime punishable by 10 years in prison and that has never happened in South Carolina — it has become the holy grail for Republicans.

The practical outcome of the early voting debate is going to be a trade-off for how many days of early voting we get for accepting photo IDs provision.

Democrats see voter suppression as the issue; Republicans see fraud as the issue. Sadly, partisan concerns are inhibiting reforms. The loser is, as usual, the citizens of South Carolina.

For more information on the Network’s voting reform initiatives, click here.