South Carolina’s voter ID law is one of the strictest in the nation, and that could mean thousands of voters — particularly black voters — in the Palmetto State could find it harder to vote on Election Day. NBC News correspondent Mara’s Schiavocampo looks at the arguments for and against voter ID, in this month’s “The Big Issue: Voter Denied.”
SUMTER, South Carolina — These days in Sumter, a lot of voters have questions, after the state passed one of the nation’s strictest voter ID laws. Starting next year, voters in the Palmetto state will have to show a government-issued photo ID in order to vote.
Activists like Dr. Brenda Williams are working to register — and in some cases re-register — voters like Amanda Wolf, who doesn’t have a current ID, and who are often learning that getting one is not so simple.
South Carolina is not alone. In what proponents call an effort to cut down on or prevent voter fraud, 31 states now require some form of ID to vote, including several 2012 battleground state. Some of the strictest laws were passed this year, including in South Carolina.