S.C. voter law upheld, enforcement delayed

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WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- A federal court in Washington Wednesday ruled South Carolina's voter ID law is constitutional but ordered it not to be implemented until 2013.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, ruled the law, which requires people to show state-approved photo ID before they are permitted to vote, does not violate the federal Voting Rights Act but said enforcing the law for the November election opened up "the potential for chaos."

"South Carolina's new voter ID law is significantly more friendly to voters without qualifying photo IDs than several other contemporary state laws that have passed legal muster," Brett Kavanaugh, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, wrote in the decision, which was joined by U.S. District Court Judges Colleen Kollar-Kotelly and John D. Bates, The Washington Post reported.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called the court ruling "not just for South Carolina, this is a win for our country," but also said she would have preferred the law be in effect for the Nov. 6 election, The (Columbia) State reported.

South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian said in a statement the party "is hopeful that the United States Supreme Court will resolve the differences between various voter ID cases around the country."