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Under a section of the National Voter Registration Act known as the 鈥淢otor Voter鈥� provision, the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) is supposed to provide all customers the opportunity to register to vote when they apply for a new or renewed ID card or driver鈥檚 license. And under South Carolina law, 17-year-old citizens may register to vote as long as they turn 18 on or before the next general Election Day and are otherwise qualified to vote.

An inquiry by the ACLU of South Carolina, however, has revealed that SCDMV has systematically failed at transmitting the correct information that would allow the South Carolina Elections Commission to complete these voters registration.

Specifically, when a South Carolinian applies for a new or renewed driver鈥檚 license or other ID from the SCDMV 鈥� whether in person, online, or by phone, mail, or email 鈥� the SCDMV must give that person an opportunity to register to vote or update their voter registration. If the customer indicates they want to register or update their voter registration, the SCDMV must transmit that information via the State Election Commission to the county board of elections, usually within 10 days.

When an SCDMV customer fills out a driver鈥檚 license or state identification application, Box 5 of the asks: 鈥淒o you want to register to vote in South Carolina with the County Registration Board?鈥� It further instructs that, to register to vote, 鈥淸y]ou must be a U.S. citizen, SC resident and meet requirements to register to vote.鈥� Customers are then given an opportunity to check a box to indicate 鈥淵es, I wish to register to vote.鈥�

In most cases, if someone checks 鈥淵es鈥� on this form, they are then prompted to attest to their voter qualifications with an electronic signature, and their information is transferred to the State Election Commission for voter registration. But in the case of 17-year-olds who should have qualified under the South Carolina Constitution, the SCDMV has been failing to provide the electronic signature form and to transmit the information to the SEC.

Because the SCDMV has been systematically failing to register 17-year-olds for at least 22 years, the total number of potential voters who were denied the chance to register in accordance with the NVRA is not yet known. For now, the ACLU-SC and ACLU are committed to making sure that young voters are properly notified and given a chance to vote in the November election.