COLUMBIA, S.C. — On Wednesday a house subcommittee heard public testimony on a bill that would establish early voting across the state and require people voting by mail to supply a government-issued ID number with their ballot application
“There are some things here that are amazing and that we’ve been asking for, and there are some things that need a little tweaking," said Director of Elections for Charleston County Isaac Cramer.
The bill, sponsored by House Speaker Jay Lucas and backed by nearly 50 Republican house members, would eliminate excuses for absentee voting like work obligations and vacation.
H. 4919 would also require absentee ballot applications to include a government issued photo identification number.
The bill creates a formula determining how many early voting locations a county can have based on either the size of its population or geographical area. The formula caps the maximum number at seven and each location must be at least 10 miles apart.
Josh Malkin with the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina (ACLU) said the mandatory distance between locations and restriction on early voting locations would impact the state's largest cities, in particularly Black voters.
“The restriction on the number of early voting locations is unreasonable, disproportionately impacts urban centers, and likely violates section two of the Voting Rights Act.”
Supporter of the bill, Representative Brandon Newton of Lancaster and York Counties, said he was happy with all of the feedback speakers gave on Wednesday.
“That's kind of the point of the bill, to be a bill that restructures our elections and allows members to present their ideas”
Little feedback was heard from subcommittee members except Representative John King of York County.
“We should not be afraid of South Carolinians voting," said King. "And to not allow free access to elections as reference to the voting part of it, it strikes me as being afraid of who will win.”
Newton countered ideas that the bill restricts voting access. "I think the bill rapidly expands access to voting," said Newton. He said this bill will put South Carolina on the long list of states that already have early voting and mandated voting times.
As for absentee voting, he said in person voting already requires proof of identification and this bill would
“We want to make absentee voting what it is. It's absentee voting. If you're gonna be absent on election day it gives you that opportunity to do so.
Several amendments to the bill are expected to come, especially on the early voting distance requirements. The subcommittee will discuss those amendments at their next meeting in the coming days.
“If you are serious about democracy, about making the ballot available for all your constituents, then I strongly encourage you to amend House 4919,” said Malkin.
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After the subcommittee approves the bill, it will be heard by the full judiciary committee before it reaches the House floor.
Wednesday's hearing comes one day after the house amended another elections-related bill to ban ballot drop boxes and expand audits on elections.
More than two dozen bills related to South Carolina Election laws have been filed by State House Republicans and Democrats this session.