Three-Judge Court Halts South Carolina Voter ID Law for 2012 Election: Statement of J. Gerald Hebert

We are pleased the court did not approve this law for the 2012 Election as tens of thousands of registered voters would have been disenfranchised. The state was ill-prepared to implement its photo voter ID law for the 2012 election and it was forced to continually change the law during the course of the trial in order to safeguard voting rights. Ultimately the law that the court has approved for 2013 and beyond is a huge departure from the bill enacted by the South Carolina legislature.

This decision is a victory for the voters of South Carolina over their own elected officials. An unfair and undemocratic law has been drastically improved and the Campaign Legal Center will monitor the State’s implementation of the law in 2013 and beyond to ensure voting rights are protected. The 2012 Election was the most pressing concern and that has been addressed.

The Legal Center serves as co-counsel with the ACLU for a group of Intervenors who would have been harmed if the voter ID law as enacted was allowed to take effect.

To read the opinion, click here.

To read the Defendant-Intervenors' proposed findings and conclusions, click here.

To read the Defendant-Intervenors' reply to South Carolina's response to its proposed findings and conclusions, click here.