South Carolina’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Election Commission, alleging that eligible South Carolinians were denied voter registration opportunities in the last 13 months.
SCDMV denied opportunities to register 17,000 residents who were 17 years old but will have reached the legal voting age of 18 by Election Day in 2024, the ACLU said. The denials were statewide, though the scope and a county-by-county review are not yet complete.
The lawsuit said out of the 17,000 denied, SEC found about 6,000 were able to successfully register and SCDMV is working to hand-review the remaining forms. The inquiry came after South Carolina State Rep. Spencer Wetmore (D-Charleston) warned those who registered when they were 17 to check their registration after a constituent’s student could not register through a driver’s license application.
SCDMV did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Greenville News.