Feb. 9: H.4919 Absentee and Early Voting

Feb. 9: H.4919 Absentee and Early Voting

Time Range For Action Alert: 
Feb 06 2022 to Feb 09 2022

Action Alert: your voice matters

We need your voice by Wednesday, February  9, when the House Election Laws Subcommittee takes up a very important early and absentee voting bill.

The bill does something that we have long needed, creating a no-excuse early voting period. However, it also does things that are threats to voter access and reasonable election administration.

We hope everyone will provide personal testimony at the hearing or in writing. 

When

Wednesday, February 9: House Subcommittee meets.

How

  • Email HJUDElectionLaws [at] schouse.gov by Wednesday for the record. 
  • Testify in-person on Wednesday immediately upon adjournment of the House. Sign up at the desk when you enter Blatt Building 516.

Talking points

What do you need to know about H. 4919? Here are more details. Essentials:

Good news! H.4919:
  • for each general election (not primaries), adds a two-week period to cast an early in-person ballot without excuse. Yeah! Support this! 

Not-so-good. H.4919: 

  • eliminates in-person excused absentee voting.
  • establishes a formula for county early voting locations for general elections that impacts major urban centers. The locations must be at least 10 miles apart and include the county election offices.
    • Some counties will be shortchanged depending on geography.
    • Major urban centers (Columbia, Charleston, Greenville), home to large minority communities, will be confined to a single polling place at the county election office where overcrowding, poor access, and delays are likely. 
    • This illustrates why the state should not attempt to micro-manage county election offices. Let the counties decide; they will hear from voters if they get it wrong.
  • prohibits multi-party candidates as well as candidates running for multiple offices. As noted in a newsletter from Rep. Bill Taylor, these practices are normally associated with the Democratic Party.
  • requires that absentee ballot applications include a government-issued photo ID number (SC driver’s license, SC DMV ID, passport, military ID, SC photo voter registration card). A missing number will lead to the rejection of a ballot application, while its presence will be useless. 
    • In states like Texas, when verification of submitted numbers has been required, it has led to the rejection of outrageous numbers of absentee ballot applications, from 16%-50% of those received.
    • Election offices have no consistent access to the databases needed to verify these numbers, other than those that State Election Commission itself issues.
  • does NOT include a provision for notice and cure when ballots are found defective. 
    • South Carolina is long overdue to provide this reasonable accommodation that serves only to provide citizens the best possible opportunity to provide the information required by the General Assembly to exercise their most fundamental right. 
Issues referenced by this action alert: 
Voting Rights Laws
Voting rights are under attack.