Before the 2022 Election, many South Carolinians registered to vote or updated their voter registration at the South Carolina DMV (SCDMV)—a required mechanism under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). However, on Election Day, many of these voters experienced issues casting their ballot because their voter registration did not reflect either registration or an address change completed at the SCDMV.  

Under the NVRA, the DMV must provide for new voter registration and process updates to existing voter registrations. This process hinges on the SC DMV properly communicating the updates to the South Carolina State Election Commission (SC SEC) so that the SC SEC can communicate these changes to the counties ahead of Election Day.  

During the 2022 election in South Carolina, there was a breakdown in this critical communication, causing confusion across the state. Some properly registered voters were turned away at their polling place. One voter reported updating her registration at the SC DMV the summer before Election Day, yet her new polling place had her marked as improperly registered on Election Day. To vote, she then had to travel to her local County Board of Elections, update her address, and vote there. While waiting in line, she encountered voters with the same issue. Because of the wait time, some voters even left. Voters should not face such widespread confusion and barriers to voting.  

The fact that the information filed with the SC DMV was not properly updated with the SC SEC constitutes a clear violation of the NVRA. CLC, ACLU, and ACLU of South Carolina sent a notice letter to the SC SEC regarding this violation. SC SEC must correct the issue or outline a clear plan on how to correct the issue by December 7, 2023. 

The 2023 election in South Carolina is only a couple of months away. If the DMV voter registration process is not remedied, more South Carolina voters may be improperly denied the opportunity to vote this Election Day.  

As long as we have had a representative democracy, civic-minded Americans have worked tirelessly to ensure their neighbors can access it—by registering people to vote, holding voter education events and promoting engagement in the democratic process to build stronger communities.  

Nonpartisan civic engagement groups, composed of civic-minded Americans, have carried this unique American tradition forward from the founding to the present day. 

But recently, these groups’ efforts have come under attack. In state after state, self-interested politicians have introduced and/or passed new laws that would completely undermine or even criminalize the activities of nonpartisan civic engagement groups. These laws are both unconstitutional and unpopular, which is why they are often tucked away in larger anti-voter bills, where they receive less attention. 

Not only do these laws represent a serious attack on civic engagement groups’ constitutional rights to free speech and association, but they would also have clear negative effects on Black and brown voters, low-income voters, voters with disabilities and young voters, groups that civic engagement organizations often prioritize because of a history of disenfranchisement and marginalization

Our democracy is strongest when every voter can make their voice heard. We should celebrate, not punish, the civic-minded organizations and volunteers who help Americans vote. That’s why Campaign Legal Center is fighting back. 

Where CLC is fighting back: 

• Alabama

• Florida 

• Georgia 

• Kansas 

• Missouri 

• Montana