COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP/WCBD) — Voter registration won’t be reopened for nearly 2,000 teens in South Carolina despite a glitch in the state Department of Motor Vehicles computer system, a judge ruled Friday.
State law allows teens who are 17 to register to vote if they will be 18 by Election Day. That was the case for 1,900 teens who attempted to register for the upcoming election while receiving services at the DMV but were unsuccessful.
A spokesperson for the State Election Commission told News 2 last week that the SCDMV system is not able to send applications automatically to the election office for individuals who are not yet 18 at the time the application is completed.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and its South Carolina chapter filed a lawsuit Tuesday, asking the court to add the teens to the state’s voter rolls, arguing that not doing so would violate their constitutional rights and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
They provided several possible ways the teens could register and be allowed to cast ballots during a Friday morning hearing in Richland County.