South Carolina Voter ID Law Not in Place For November Election

South Carolina's voter ID law will not go into effect for the 2012 presidential election, according to a three-judge panel. However, it may be implemented in 2013 elections. The panel found that it had no discriminatory purpose. Read more here.

 

Mississippi Voter ID Law on Hold for November Election

Mississippi's photo identification law will not be in effect for the upcoming presidential election. In the mean time, federal officials from the Department of Justice will review for it for discrimination. 

Unlike Pennsylvania, where legislators passed the ID measure, Mississippi voters approved the identification requirement on a ballot initiative by a wide margin in November of 2011.

"We believe the process of implementation authorized by the Mississippi Legislature and the rules and regulations will show no discrimination against any citizen of Mississippi," said Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.  

The Department of Justice is investigating to determine if the new law violates the Voting Rights Act.

Read more here.

New Study Says Voter ID Laws May Disenfranchise 700,000 Young Minority Voters

According to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and Washington University, voter identification laws may stop as many as 700,000 minorities under the age of 30 from voting on November 6. 

Cathy Cohen of the University of Chicago says that 9 to 25% of this age group could be disenfranchised because of new voter ID laws.

17 percent of states have already enacted voter ID requirements or have those that will soon go into effect. 

Judith Browne-Dianis, director of The Advancement Project, says that these new laws are likely to have a disproportionate impact on potential women voters. "Young women may be the hardest hit," says Browne-Dianis.  

The Brennan Center for Justice reports that 11 percent of Americans do not possess the specific government-issued photo identification required to vote. There is an apparent racial disparity among those who have the appropriate forms of identification. While nine percent of whites lack the proper ID, 16 percent of Latinos and 25 percent of Blacks lack it.

Be sure to go to canivote.org to make sure you've met the requirements to vote in your state.

  

September 25 is National Voter Registration Day - Are You Registered?

Make sure you are registered to vote in November!

http://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/

In 2008, 6 million Americans did not vote because they did not know how to register or because they missed the registration deadline altogether. Let's make sure that does not happen this year. 

And if you live in these states, make sure you have the proper ID.