Herren noted that SC has the "burden of demonstrating" that the new polling place photo ID law was neither enacted "for a discriminatory purpose nor will have a retrogressive effect."
SC's Republican Attorney General, Alan Wilson, in an apparent recognition that pre-clearance is likely to be denied, told those in attendance at a GOP fundraiser that he had "no faith" that the DOJ "will do the right thing." He vowed to litigate the matter "up to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary."
The ACLU submitted a 15-page letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on August 5, 2011 asking that the DOJ to deny South Carolina’s request for pre-clearance of its new polling place photo ID law under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The ACLU letter argues that proponents’ unsubstantiated claims of "voter fraud" were but a pretext for unlawful discrimination and that statistics suggest that the new law would operate as an illegal poll tax, especially for the disproportionate number of African Americans who live below the federal poverty level in the state.
South Carolina's history of voting rights violations require federal oversight of election law changes, including requiring voters to show photo ID.