The South Carolina flag flies outside city hall in North Charleston, S.C., Aug. 12, 2011. The state will hold runoff elections on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, to decide a handful of races where no candidate received a vote majority in the primary held just two weeks earlier. (AP Photo/Bruce Smith, File)
A judge declined to order South Carolina’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and State Election Commission (SEC) to register thousands of young voters whose registrations were mistakenly denied because they were not yet 18 when they registered but would be by Election Day. These voters will not be allowed to cast a ballot this November.
The Richland County judge called the requested relief “too drastic” and said it would “create disorder in the voting system.”
The court held a hearing Friday after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of South Carolina filed a lawsuit asking that the voters be registered despite the state’s voter registration deadline having passed.
South Carolina law allows 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the next election, and otherwise eligible, to register to vote. For the past 13 months, when a 17-year-old applied for a driver’s license or state ID and marked that they would like to register, the DMV’s system did not transmit their voter registration application to the SEC. As a result, approximately 17,000 young voters were not registered to vote despite indicating a desire to do so. These voters were also not notified that their registrations had been rejected.
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The DMV has been working to identify the impacted voters. So far, 6,000 were able to register through other means and the names of the remaining 11,000 were sent to the SEC for processing. The SEC has thus far refused to register those 11,000 voters.
“Although thousands of these individuals were eligible to register to vote, were entitled to easily register through their [DMV] transaction, timely provided state officials with the information necessary to register, and indicated a desire to do so, SEC is unwilling to add them to the voter rolls or otherwise protect their fundamental right to cast a ballot in the 2024 general election,” the complaint read.
The ACLU asked the court to suspend the voter registration deadline, direct the DMV to identify all impacted voters and order the SEC to add those voters to the rolls. They also asked for every impacted voter to be notified of their registration status.
Read the order here.
Last update, Oct. 22
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Civil rights advocates are suing the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles and the state Election Commission for allegedly preventing thousands of 17-year-olds who will be 18 by Election Day from registering to vote.
The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina said Tuesday that over the past year, the DMV has “unlawfully denied voter registration opportunities to over 17,000 young South Carolinians who were entitled to register to vote under” state law. Democracy Docket reached out to the DMV for comment.
The lawsuit references a statute that says a person who isn’t 18 by the time registration ends but “attains that age before the next ensuing election” and wants to register is “otherwise qualified.” In other words, a South Carolinian can register at 17, before they reach the lawful voting-age, if they will be eligible by the time the election actually happens.
“Therefore, individuals who turn 18 between January 4, 2024 (close of books for the first primary), and November 5, 2024 (Election Day), were eligible to register to vote … starting 120 days before January 4, 2024, which is September 6, 2023,” the complaint said.
The lawsuit alleges the DMV wrongfully denied those 17-year-old registrants, and says South Carolina’s DMV “will not provide, process, or transmit voter registration applications for anyone under the age of 18.” The ACLU also says the people who were rejected weren’t provided with written notification of the rejection, which is required by law.
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The lawsuit says recently the DMV has been working to identify teens who registered between Sept. 5, 2023 and Oct. 14. A list of around 17,000 individuals was sent to the South Carolina Elections Commission (SEC), which determined that roughly 6,000 were able to successfully register to vote by other means. The DMV is now working on reviewing the remaining 11,000 registration forms to determine which individuals tried to register.
But the ACLU is seeking a more efficient solution, according to the lawsuit, and wants the SEC to give all of the affected individuals a chance to register.
“We appreciate SCDMV’s candor and the agency’s willingness to identify the affected voters,” Allen Chaney, legal director of the ACLU of South Carolina, said in a statement. “I am hopeful that the court will order the Election Commission to add these thousands of young, first-time voters to the voter rolls so that they can cast a ballot on Election Day.”
The nonprofit is asking a court to order the DMV to send a list of the impacted teens to the SEC by Thursday, and wants the SEC to notify those individuals and let them know they’re entitled to complete their voter registration application by Friday. This would allow the eligible registrants to be able to vote on Nov. 5.
Democracy Docket reached out to the SEC for comment.
Saturday marks the final home game of the 2024 season for South Carolina. The in-state and 5-6 Wofford Terriers will drive down I-26 from Spartanburg to Columbia to take on the 7-3 Gamecocks. Williams-Brice Stadium is sold out again, completing the program goal of filling the stands for all seven home games this fall.
Through the first ten games of the season, Shane Beamer’s South Carolina football team has not repeated a uniform combination. Alternating garnet, black, and white helmets, jerseys, and pants, the Gamecocks also have mixed in some additional looks with throwbacks, alternate face masks, and updated helmet stickers and stripes.
On Saturday, the trend will end as South Carolina will repeat a uniform combination for the first time this season.
[GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days and 50% off first year]
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Around lunchtime, the Gamecock Football account on Twitter/X hinted at the gameday uniform combination. The post showed a picture of what looked like the team’s throwback white helmets in front of an American flag.
Then, a little while later, the social media team revealed the rest of the gameday combination.
South Carolina has once again will rock its 1980 throwback uniforms. The Gamecocks also wore the look during the team’s blowout win over Akron earlier this season.
Saturday is Salute the Troops Day at Williams-Brice Stadium and also Senior Day.
The full list of Senior Day participants can be found here.
Around the GamecockScoop headquarters, we’re still all chasing publisher Caleb Alexander. Caleb leads all in the straight up picks and against the spread. Against the spread, Caleb is beating a lot of the experts. (Still need to remind everyone this for fun and not meant to be gambling advice).
Nationally, its a pretty quiet week before college football enters what conference realignment has left intact of rivalry week. There are still three top-25 matchups this weekend with a handful of other games that could impact the playoffs. It should be a good week for Gamecock fans too enjoy some college football with their feet up, assuming the Terriers play along.
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This week’s guest picker is another specialist, former walk-on Thomas Hooper. Hooper was a member of the Garnet and Black from 2004-2007. He was 3-for-3 in his career on extra points, adding PATs after some memorable Gamecock touchdowns. In 2004, he converted the point after following a 65-yard TroyWilliamson touchdown and a 57-yard Ko Simpson pick-6, both against UGA. Hooper then connected on an EXP after an 88-yard Bobby Wallace TD run against Middle Tennessee State in 2006. Hooper and his family live in greater Montgomery, AL area today.
#5 Indiana (10-0) +13.5 @ #2 Ohio State (9-1): 12:00 on FOX
The Buckeyes will be playing in their fifth-of-six straight noon kickoffs to end the 2024 regular season. Why is this game not in primetime? What happens to Indiana if Ohio State win this game by 24+ points? Do the Hoosiers still make the playoff with a paper-thin resume? They can’t play for the Big Ten title if they lose in the Shoe on Saturday. If Indiana wins they are in the Big Ten title game even if they somehow stumble to lowly Purdue. Ohio State gets in the Big Ten title game by winning out by beating Indiana and Michigan or by beating Indiana and having Penn State lose one of their final two games. Ohio State is 79-12-5 against Indiana all-time. Ronald Reagan was president the last time the Hoosiers beat Ohio State. (1988). OSU has won 29-in-a-row in this series.
#9 Ole Miss (8-2) -10.5 @ Florida (5-5): 12:00 on ABC
This is game the Rebels need to take seriously. Florida is playing much better football over the last month. They aren’t as good as Ole Miss but playing in the Swamp is always difficult. The Rebels are in a great spot at #9 in playoff rankings. If they take care of business against the Gators and next week verses rival Mississippi State, they are likely missing the SEC Championship Game and sitting at 10-2 waiting to see what Big Ten location they are traveling to play. Ole Miss path to Atlanta is unlikely: the Rebs needs to win out plus have Alabama lose one more game, Vanderbilt beat Tennessee, and Texas A&M lose out. That would give Texas the No. 1 seed and create only a two-way tie for second place between Georgia and Ole Miss in which the Rebels would get the No. 2 seed as a result of their head-to-head victory. If it’s a three-way tie for second with Georgia, Tennessee and Ole Miss, Georgia would get the nod.
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In case you were wondering: former Gamecock Pup Howard currently has 37 total tackles with one sack, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries for Florida.
#13 SMU (9-1) -9.5 @ Virginia (5-5): 12:00 on ESPN2
Let’s take a peak at the ACC Championship scenarios for SMU:
Clemson, Miami and SMU are the only three teams still remaining.
Clemson finished its ACC schedule at 7-1 in league play, while both Miami (vs. Wake Forest, at Syracuse) and SMU (at Virginia, vs. California) each have two remaining conference games. If both the Hurricanes and Mustangs win out, they will face off in the ACC Championship. That’s also the case if SMU only drops one of its final two games. Clemson will be on the outside looking in with one exception if the following happens:
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Virginia beats SMU and Virginia Tech and Pitt beat Louisville. Due to the record of conference opponents: Clemson would get nod. I think.
Sam Houston (8-2) +6 @ Jacksonville State (7-3): 12:00 on CBSSN
The Conference USA schedule makers need to placed in charge of all college football scheduling. Why? There are four schools still left in the hunt for the CUSA title game and they all play each the final two weeks of the season. Western Kentucky and Liberty meet in VA this weekend and Sam Houston heads to Jacksonville State. Next weekend Jax St plays at WKU and Liberty goes to SHSU. Will it matter in terms of the playoff? No. Every team in the CUSA has at least two losses overall. Boise State, Tulane, Memphis, Army and Louisiana are all ahead of the winner of this game.
Charleston Southern (1-10) +33.5 @ Florida State (1-9): 1:30 streaming on ESPN+
No one on the planet imagined FSU vs CSU would be the Week 14 Toilet Bowl, but here we are.
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Mike Norvell has gone from King of the Hill to….whatever is at the bottom of the hill. The Seminoles have had an epic meltdown. At the end of 2023, FSU was huffing and puffing at the ACC and demanding a higher payout for the schools that won more games. That chatter has quickly quieted down, leaving only Clemson debating if they should still push for more than they deserve.
CSU is one of the worst programs in the FCS and doesn’t stand much of a chance to win this game. However, they have the opportunity to make one lasting impression during a televised matchup. This will be four straight seasons with a losing record for the Buccaneers.
#4 Penn State (9-1) -12 @ Minnesota (6-4): 3:30 on CBS
Penn State is in a great position right now despite their best win being over 7-3 Illinois. All they have to do is beat Minnesota and Maryland and they are not only in the playoff, but they get to host a first-round game. They aren’t going to the Big Ten title game unless Ohio State beats Indiana and loses to Michigan and the Nittany Lions win out. Penn State might be in the best position of any at-large team with a strength of schedule at #32. If Penn State loses to either Minnesota or Maryland – they shouldn’t receive a bid.
#14 BYU (9-1) +3.5 @ #21 Arizona State (8-2): 3:30 on ESPN
The Big XII still has nine schools mathematically alive for their conference title game but BYU and Arizona State, along with Colorado, all control their own destiny. (Upset alert -part II, Colorado is only a -2.5 road favorite against Kansas. Remember the Jayhawks just knocked off BYU last week). Iowa State can advance to the Big XII game if they win out and BYU and Colorado both lose another game. BYU secures their spot with a win plus a Utah win (Utah hosts Iowa State). Colorado secures their spot with a win and wins by both Utah and BYU. The Sun Devils have won three-in-a-row. BYU has looked sluggish in their last two games.
Wofford (5-6) +42.5 @ #18 South Carolina (7-3): 4:00 streaming on SEC+
Gone are the days of the dreaded Wofford triple-option and chop blocks the week before the Clemson game. South Carolina has played Wofford twice before the Palmetto Bowl, in 2012 and 2017. The Gamecocks are 1-1 against Clemson after playing the Terriers the week before. Basketball is heating up and the football regular season is winding down, check back at GamecockScoop daily for the best Gamecock coverage on Al Gore’s internet.
#19 Army (9-0) +14 vs. #6 Notre Dame (9-1) (Yankee Stadium): 7:00 on NBC
Notre Dame has played on two opponents home field this season. The last such occasion was September 14 at one-win Purdue. To be fair, Georgia Tech wanted to move their game to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to capitalize on a larger gate. As it stands now, the Irish are in the playoff as long as they don’t stumble to either Army or Southern Cal on the road. With a win in the Bronx, Army will leapfrog Boise State as the highest ranked Group of Five conference champion. Army is also already locked into the American title game and will play Tulane. The location of that game will be determined after Army hosts UTSA next weekend.
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#7 Alabama (8-2) -14 @ Oklahoma (5-5): 7:30 on ESPN
Alabama is probably going to the SEC Championship yet again if they win. They will be a multi-score favorite at home against Auburn next week. If the Tide win out they are 99% going to Atlanta. That number goes to 100% if Missouri beats Mississippi State this weekend and the Tide win their last two. Bama would win all multi-team tiebreakers due to conference opponent strength of record. Opposing the Tide is likely to be either Texas or Texas A&M, although watch out this weekend as the Aggies are only a -2.5 favorite against 4-6 Auburn. Vegas smells an upset. Brent Venables is going to get an early look at the portal with Bama and at LSU left on the Sooners schedule.
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Omar Croskey scored 20 points as South Carolina State beat Alabama A&M 82-70 on Friday night.
Croskey went 7 of 12 from the field (6 for 9 from 3-point range) for the Bulldogs (3-3). Davion Everett scored 12 points while finishing 5 of 6 from the floor and added five rebounds.
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The Bulldogs (3-3) were led in scoring by Anthony Bryant and Chad Moodie with 16 points apiece. Lorenzo Downey had 14 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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