SC judge rules against ACLU on motion to register nearly 2K teens to vote

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Nearly 2,000 South Carolina teens will not be allowed to vote in this year‘s election, despite a lawsuit asking that they be added to the state’s voter rolls.

A South Carolina circuit court judge denied a motion Friday afternoon from the American Civil Liberties Union against the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Election Commission that would add 17-year-olds who would have turned 18 by Election Day to the voter rolls.

A glitch in the South Carolina DMVs computer system prevented nearly 2,000 teens from being registered, despite them checking a box when they got their driver’s license that they wanted to do so.

Teens who registered to vote through the DMV checked their voting status online and found they were not registered, then contacted the ACLU.

“It’s not just that they were denied an opportunity to register to vote: It’s that they thought they had registered to vote and likely won’t know that was ineffective until they show up to cast their ballot,” said Allen Chaney, legal director at the ACLU of SC.

The state’s Republican leaders joined the DMV and the South Carolina Election Commission in opposing that request, saying it’s coming too soon before the election, and would put an undue burden on county offices.

“We have concerns it will unravel the integrity of the election process, as we’re in the middle of it,” said Rob Tyson, attorney for the South Carolina Republican Party.

The ACLU’s motion for a temporary restraining order was denied on Friday afternoon by Circuit Court Judge Daniel Coble. That means those teens identified by the ACLU will not be able to vote in the Nov. 5 election because the deadline to register vote has already passed.

“This is a case about fundamental, constitutional rights to cast a ballot in a democracy,” Chaney said. “Because of the government’s conduct, young, first-time voters are wrongfully excluded from a historic election.”

Coble wrote the request was too drastic, would likely violate the separation of powers doctrine and would create disorder in the voting system.

“When you start changing systemic things in the runup to an election, the likelihood of mistakes increases and the lack of public confidence increases because people don’t trust that the rules aren’t being changed midstream,” said Grayson Lambert, attorney for Gov. Henry McMaster.

The DMV says about 6,000 other teens were also affected by that computer error, but they figured out something was awry and registered to vote in time for them to do something.

According to South Carolina law, 17-year-olds can register to vote ahead of their 18th birthday if they are of age by the day they are voting.

You can read a copy of the lawsuit here:

In a statement, Legal Director for the ACLU of South Carolina Allen Chaney said they have not yet made a decision on whether or not to appeal Friday’s ruling.

“Our government failed these young voters, and now the same government is making excuses rather than making things right,” Chaney said in a statement. “When ‘It’s too hard to fix’ becomes an acceptable reason to disenfranchise voters, we know that there’s work to do. But at the ACLU of South Carolina, we’re in it for the long haul.”

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