COLUMBIA, S.C. — Nearly 2,000 teens in South Carolina who tried to register to vote in this year’s election will not be added to the voter rolls.
According to ACLU’s website, a glitch in the South Carolina DMV’s computer system denied 1,896 teens from being registered, despite checking the box upon getting their driver’s license.
The American Civil Liberties Union then filed a lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and the State Election Commission for denying 17-year-olds who would turn 18 by Election Day the opportunity to vote.
On Friday, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Daniel Coble denied the ACLU’s motion to extend voter registration for the teens identified.
“This Court finds that the relief sought by (the ACLU) is too drastic and would likely violate the separation of powers doctrine,” wrote Coble in a brief order filed just before 4 p.m. “There is no effectual relief that this Court could grant and even if it attempted to, the relief sought would create disorder in the voting system.”
South Carolina law states 17-year-olds can register to vote as long as they turn 18 on or before Election Day.
"Our government failed these young voters, and now the same government is making excuses rather than making things right," said Allen Chaney, Legal Director for the ACLU of South Carolina. "When 'It's too hard to fix' becomes an acceptable reason to disenfranchise voters, we know that there's work to do. But at the ACLU of South Carolina, we're in it for the long haul."