Friday, January 13, 2012

Gov. Nikki Haley says South Carolina has the right to uphold the integrity of its voting system

Haley, SC to Sue Feds Over Voter ID - MountPleasantPatch

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson on Tuesday said the state will file suit against the U.S. Department of Justice, which last month rejected the state's new Voter ID law requiring all voters to show a valid state-approved photo ID in order to cast a ballot.

Wilson said his office planned to file suit within the next 10 days in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, as Patch first reported last week.

"Our intent is to ensure … that no voter is suppressed in their right to vote and that the integrity of the electoral process is protected," said Wilson, who appeared with S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley, state House Speaker Bobby Harrell, state Sen. Kevin Bright, and several state lawmakers at a noon press conference at the Statehouse....

"The will of the people was that we want to protect the integrity of the voting process," Haley said. "And if you have to show a picture ID to buy Sudafed, if you have to show a picture ID to get on a plane -- you should have to show an ID to do that one thing that is so important to us, which is that right to vote.

"The House passed it, the Senate passed it, and I signed it," she added. "What we saw was the continued war on South Carolina that continues to happen -- like Boeing, like illegal immigration, and now we're seeing it with Voter ID. This has got to stop, and you will see us fight -- and you will see us fight hard."