South Carolina Republican leaders are fighting the federal government and its decision to block the state's Voter ID bill.
"You will see us fight, and you will see us fight hard," said South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
Tuesday afternoon, along with Attorney General Alan Wilson and House Speaker Bobby Harrell, Haley explained how she plans to get the bill passed into law.
"Everyone implies that this is voter suppression. There is nothing that we want more than to make sure every person in South Carolina has the right to vote," Haley said.
Last month, the U.S. Justice Department blocked the state's Voter ID bill because it said the law makes it harder for minorities to vote. The federal agency must approve changes to South Carolina's election laws because of the state's failure in the past to protect the voting rights of blacks.
The bill requires people to present a state-issued driver's license, ID card, military ID, or U.S. passport, to vote. Haley said it protects the rights of all voters.
"If you have to show picture ID for Sudafed, if you have to show a picture ID to get on a plane, you should have to show a picture ID to do that one thing that is so important to us vote."
But 72-year-old Lutie Morris-Floyd disagrees. She's a member of the League of Women Voters of Horry County and believes the bill would disenfranchise the elderly and the poor.
"A long time ago, the midwives delivered you. If they mishapped and didn't put it in the courthouse, you didn't get in, and my name was not in the courthouse," she explained.
When she tried to get a new ID, Morris-Floyd was told the birth certificate she used for years wasn't valid. She went the extra mile to get a valid one, but questions the ability of others to do so.
"If you don't have transportation, you don't have anyone to take you 3 or 4 places, go to Columbia or wherever, what are they going to do? Sooner or later they are going to throw up their hands and say well I can't vote."
We'll continue to follow the debate and bring you updates as we get them.
