NAACP: Fight Voter ID

COLUMBIA -- The NAACP called on supporters Monday to fight what it deems a "coordinated and comprehensive assault" on black and Latino voters by states such as South Carolina.

The civil rights group's effort to rally its troops comes less than a month before the U.S. Justice Department decides whether to authorize or block the state's new Voter ID law. A decision is expected Dec. 27.

The impact of that decision on South Carolina's Jan. 21 Republican presidential primary is unclear. That's because Justice's ruling might not be the final say. Lawsuits on the matter are also pending.

As the clock ticks down, Benjamin Todd Jealous, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called upon those who oppose the law to get vocal. He said arguments that such laws are necessary to stop voter fraud are a farce. He made his comments in a nationwide teleconference with organization leadership and the media.

A person is more likely to be struck by lightning or record the spotting of a UFO than to encounter voter fraud, Jealous said. Fraud can be addressed through prosecution, he said.

Nationwide 'assault'

The NAACP sees the 25 voting measures -- passed in South Carolina and 13 other states this year -- as a legislative effort to suppress voters, "rooted in our nation's worst traditions of democracy," said Ryan Haygood, the NAACP's director of political participation with the Legal Defense Fund.

The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, president of the North Carolina NAACP, characterized the measures as modern, less overt versions of Jim Crow laws, designed to strip blacks of political power and equality.

The organization's objections are outlined in a new report, "Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America."

The report claims that the laws follow record minority turnout for the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama and 2010 Census findings of significant growth in minority communities.

Partisan politics

The issue is a bitter partisan one. While Democrats opposed the Voter ID law en masse, South Carolina's Republican leaders pushed the new law, signed by Gov. Nikki Haley in May.

Under the law, South Carolina voters must bring a photo ID on Election Day to prove their identity. South Carolina driver's licenses, state-issued ID cards, passports and military ID are the forms of identification that will be accepted.

Forthcoming voter registration cards with photos will be issued and accepted at the polls.

The GOP strongly denies that the new law is a response to record turnout among minorities in 2008. Instead, supporters see the law as a commonsense approach to protect the integrity of the election process.

As Haley signed the law, she said showing a photo ID is a way of life in the 21st century. She also offered free rides to the state Department of Motor Vehicles offices earlier this year to help people obtain photo IDs.

"We have made it abundantly clear that we want more South Carolinians voting, not less," Haley spokesman Rob Godfrey said. "We just think it's good policy for them to show a photo ID."

The Justice Department continues to review the Voter ID law. The law cannot go into effect until after the Justice Department authorizes it, due to the state's past voting rights abuses.

The State Election Commission calculates that 240,000 voters will be affected because they are registered to vote but do not have a photo ID that will be accepted under the new law.

New voting laws

Nationwide, states have adopted new standards for voting registration, imposed new restrictions on voter registration drives and limited early voting and absentee voting opportunities, among other measures.

For example, Florida, Maine, Ohio and Wisconsin passed laws that limit when and where voters can register, according to the NAACP's report.

Those laws, NAACP officials said, will disenfranchise the poor, the elderly and college students, many of whom do not have an acceptable ID. Obtaining one can be expensive for those without a birth certificate or those who have changed their name, opponents said.

Reach Yvonne Wenger at 803-926-7855 and follow her at twitter.com/yvonnewenger.