SC officials to provide answers on voter ID

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina attorney general’s office has given election officials 2½ weeks to answer questions from the Justice Department on how the state would carry out its new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls.

The office asked the Election Commission in a letter Tuesday to provide answers to the federal agency’s questions. In a four-page letter sent Monday evening, the Justice Department said it needed more information before deciding whether to allow the state to proceed.

Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire says his agency can easily answer by the week of Sept. 12.

That’s well in advance of the 60 days the state has to respond. The federal agency then has another 60 days to decide.

Any change to the state’s election laws must be cleared.