South Carolina General Assembly
119th Session, 2011-2012

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Bill 4945


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 7-5-185 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE A PERSON TO REGISTER TO VOTE ELECTRONICALLY ON THE INTERNET WEBSITE OF THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION, TO PROVIDE A PROCEDURE FOR THIS TYPE OF REGISTRATION AND AUTHORIZE THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS TO EFFECTUATE THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Article 3, Chapter 5, Title 7 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 7-5-185.    (A)    A person who is qualified to register to vote and who has a valid South Carolina driver's license or state identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles may submit an application for voter registration electronically on the Internet website of the State Election Commission.

(B)(1)    An application submitted pursuant to this section is effective upon receipt of the application by the State Election Commission if the application is received thirty days before an election to be held in the precinct of the person submitting the application.

(2)    The applicant shall attest to the truth of the information provided in the application.

(3)    For voter registration purposes, the applicant shall assent to the use of his signature from his driver's license or state identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(4)    For each electronic application, the State Election Commission shall obtain an electronic copy of the applicant's signature from his driver's license or state identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles directly from the Department of Motor Vehicles with no fee.

(5)    The State Election Commission requires a person who submits an application pursuant to this section to include:

(a)    the number of the applicant's South Carolina driver's license or state identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles;

(b)    applicant's date of birth;

(c)    the applicant's social security number; and

(d)    other information the State Election Commission considers necessary to establish the identity of the applicant.

(C)    Upon submission of an application pursuant to this section, the electronic voter registration system shall provide immediate verification that the:

(1)    applicant has a South Carolina driver's license or state identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles and that the number for that driver's license or identification card provided by the applicant matched the number for that person's driver's license or state identification card that is on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles;

(2)    date of birth provided by the applicant matches the date of birth for that person which is on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles; and

(3)    State Election Commission employs security measures to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voter registration applications submitted electronically pursuant to this section.

(D)    The State Election Commission may promulgate regulations necessary to effectuate the provisions of this section."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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This web page was last updated on March 1, 2012 at 1:02 PM