On Voting Matters

Under the heading of "Your Tax Dollars at Work" our own Governor Haley has us down to the wire with her costly appeal of the US Attorney General's blocking of last year's even more costly Voter ID law.  The Federal Court heard arguments just days ago, and will likely not have a decision until October.

That leaves too many registered voters, mostly older, who have been voting for years not knowing whether they will be allowed to vote in this election.

Shameful.

But there is a loophole that Haley and her minions have not yet closed.

Registered voters who are eligible to vote absentee, and do so by mail, need only to apply for absentee voting status by filling out a form which is available online, or by calling.  They will then receive a ballot in the mail.   After they fill out the ballot, they must sign the back of the envelope.

Once a person has applied for absentee voting status, they cannot then vote at the polls, even if the Voter ID law is overturned.  But this is a way for those who are concerned about the law and their right to vote in this election to be assured that their vote will count.

Also important, ex-prisoners who have served their time have the right to vote BUT they need to contact their county voter registration office to alert them that they are no longer in prison, otherwise they are likely to be turned away on election day.

Since the fiasco over state requirements for candidate applications, and the resulting number of petition candidates, the question arises as to just how to vote for a petition candidate.

It is possible to vote a straight ticket, and then change one or more single votes.  This is important, for example, for those Democratic voters who want to vote for Carol Tempel for SC House 115.  No need to mark each individual box; just pull that big lever (or whatever we need to do electronically), and then also check off Tempel's name.

Now here's a little humor.  Somebody somewhere started a rumor that it is necessary to first vote for president, separately, and then vote the straight ticket.  Now I wonder where that rumor might have come from (Romney-phobic republican candidates perhaps?).

Questions about Voting Rights?

http://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights-south-carolina-voter-information

http://scvotes.org/