Opponents Protest Voter ID Law

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — “That one vote counts, that might be my vote, it really might be my vote,” says Delores Freelon. Yet that vote may not be cast from Delores Freelon in the 2012 elections. Under the new South Carolina Voter IDlaw, each voter must show a state-issued photo ID. Yet, Delores does not have one, and she says she’s been unable to get one because of her birth certificate. “in 59 years of being on earth no one has ever questioned my birth certificate, says Freelon. The problem is, Delores’ first name is missing from the form. However, she does have a registration card but, without a state-issued ID, she can’t vote. Myrtle Beach Representative, Alan Clemmons, recently sent a letter to the Assistant Attorney General of South Carolina, to explain why he introduced the bill. In the letter he states, “It is an unspoken truth in south carolina, that election fraud exists. though no one likes to speak about it, it is well known in politics that elections can be won and lost based not only on who votes, but who votes for whom.” Yet proponents say, this statement has no proof. “Not one person testified that there was ever any voter fraud, that we would actually or are going to spend 1.5 million dollars on a problem that doesn’t exist, makes no sense,” says Spartanburg Representative, Harry Mitchell, Jr. We spoke with richland county senator, john courson over the phone about the law. “I think the voter-id bill that we just passed and is now law, gives additional protection for the integrity of the ballot,” says Courson. But for delores freelon, she says her abilility to cast that ballot, is still up in the air, leaving her with a lot of questions. “I believe in the constitution, i believe in the rights of the people, but sometimes i wonder what happened to we the people,” says Freelon.