COLUMBIA, S.C. _ Democratic officials celebrated a victory after South Carolina election officials agreed to change voter registration requirements that currently demand all voters to submit their full Social Security number, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced Friday morning.
South Carolina is one of three states that currently requires all nine digits of a Social Security number to register to vote, according to the statement. The new agreement among the DCCC, the South Carolina Democratic Party, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and South Carolina officials removes that requirement, instead opting for requiring only the last four digits.
The motion, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Columbia, went unopposed.
"We appreciate the South Carolina Elections Commission and S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson working with DSCC, DCCC, and the S.C. Democratic Party to find common ground and a solution to this important issue," South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Trav Robertson said, according to a statement. "Eliminating the requirement to disclose a full SSN helps lift a serious barrier to voting. We thank the Elections Commission and General Wilson for recognizing that every South Carolinian has the right to participate in our democratic process."
The case was first filed in federal court in late November 2019.
In their complaint, Democratic officials argued that requiring a full Social Security number stood in the way of many voters registering to cast a ballot because of privacy concerns. Voters, they said, were less likely to participate in events such as voter drives because they were worried about possible identity theft.
"In an age when legitimate concerns about identity theft are widespread and growing among the American populace, those engaged in voter registration drives must convince each potential voter to provide their full SSN to a stranger, to be then turned over to an elections administration system that has publicly acknowledged that it is being targeted by and is uniquely vulnerable to cyber attackers," lawyers for Democratic officials wrote in their filing.
Democratic officials also argued that volunteers registering citizens to vote also open themselves up to legal trouble by collecting full Social Security numbers.
"With this victory, South Carolinians no longer have to choose between protecting their privacy and participating in our democracy," Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the DSCC chair, said in a statement. "This settlement underscores how important it is for us to continue fighting unconstitutional policies that make it harder for voters to register and cast their ballots _ and we will continue to the work to protect the integrity of our elections."
In a letter submitted to the court, South Carolina Solicitor General Robert Cook wrote that the old requirement was created in 1967, before federal privacy laws that protect Social Security numbers were enacted. Cook and his office agreed to change the old requirement.
"Hopefully this will be a good thing, and if anybody was previously wary to register to vote because of having to provide the full Social, anyone who had those concerns will feel comfortable about it now and go ahead and register," Elections Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said.
Democratic officials asked that the changes take affect within the next 30 days.
"This provision is wrong, unconstitutional, and a large part of why nearly one million eligible people in South Carolina remain unregistered to vote," DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos said in a statement. "The state is doing right by removing this unnecessary requirement. We have committed to use our resources to fight voter suppression tactics across the country. We will continue fighting laws that discourage people from making their voices heard."
