Update: 25 To Get Free Photo ID Rides From South Carolina

September 27 Update

Only 25 people have asked the South Carolina DMV for a free ride to a local DMV office Wednesday to get a photo ID.

Gov. Nikki Haley and DMV director Kevin Shwedo announced the free rides last month in response to critics who say the state's new law requiring a photo ID to vote will disenfranchise thousands of registered voters who don't have photo IDs.

The DMV set up a toll-free number for people to call to make appointments for free rides. The agency got about 675 calls, according to Shwedo, and only 25 confirmed appointments for rides.

"The number was higher than that, but after they talked to our people they chose not to wait and they went into the office on their own and they got their credentials," Shwedo says.

At a cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, at which Shwedo announced the final number of rides that will be provided, Gov. Nikki Haley told reporters, "We got 25 appointments. That's 25 people we're helping so I'm pleased with that. Should it have been more? You know, there were a lot of people that said there were thousands of people that were not able to get to the DMV. None of us knew what we were walking into, but we were prepared. Whether it was 25 or 2,500, we were prepared to do it."

According to the State Election Commission, as of January 2010 there were about 178,000 registered voters in South Carolina who don't have photo IDs. But the agency updated that figure Tuesday and now says 216,596 registered voters don't have photo IDs.

Brett Bursey, director of the South Carolina Progressive Network, says the fact that only 25 people asked for free rides substantiates critics' claim that most of the registered voters who don't have photo IDs are not "plugged in".

"They're citizens. They're voting. They have voter registration cards. But they may be rural, they may be poor, they may be elderly, and this is a demographic that's hard to reach," he says.

Shwedo says since the DMV will have to provide only 25 rides, they will cost taxpayers almost nothing. The agency is using state vehicles, which will be driven by DMV License Examiners, so the only cost will be gasoline, along with the cost of the toll-free number the agency set up to take calls. Those calls were handled by the agency's already-existing call center staff.

There was also criticism that the offer of free rides at first did not extend to handicapped voters, because the agency was not equipped to provide rides for them. But Shwedo says volunteers came forward to help the agency provide rides to the few handicapped voters who requested them.

September 8th Update

South Carolina's DMV is offering free rides to DMV offices on September 28th for people who don't have a way to get there and need to get a state photo ID. The state's new Voter ID law, which still has to be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice, requires voters to show a photo ID to vote.

To get a free ride on the 28th, voters need to call 1-855-STATE-ID.

When announcing the free rides, Gov. Nikki Haley said on August 31st, "What we heard when we came out with this was, 'Well, people can't get there.' And so this is saying we want to take every hurdle out of your way."

But there's still a significant hurdle. The DMV wasn't planning to offer rides to handicapped voters. On Thursday state agencies will meet to find ways to make transportation possible. The SC DMV at first said those who can't walk on their own would not get rides.  Now the agency says those with help will be picked up as long as their wheelchairs fit in the back of a car.  The SC DMV is hoping other state agencies or groups will have vehicles and helpers that can handle the handicpped.

The DMV says on its website, in answering frequently asked questions about the free rides: 

13. I have trouble walking. Can I still make an appointment for transportation?

You must be physically able to walk either on your own power, with a walker or with a cane. DMV cannot transport non-ambulatory persons and is not prepared to deal with special needs.  

14.  Can a family member accompany me to the DMV office?

No. You must be able to travel alone.

Kimberly Tissot, interim executive director of the Disability Action Center in Columbia, says, "It clearly says that people who are unable to walk cannot participate in this day. I mean, I was just shocked and appalled and everything when I saw that. Any kind of public policies and procedures, if it excludes somebody, especially with a disability, that's discrimination."

DMV spokeswoman Beth Parks says, "We didn't mean to discriminate. What we were thinking about were our own limitations and the safety of our citizens."

DMV License Examiners will be providing the free rides, and Parks says they have no training in how to assist people in wheelchairs. Even if they did, the DMV's vehicles are sedans, she says.

The agency now says it will allow someone who's disabled and needs a ride to bring someone with him to help, like a relative, friend or home health worker. But the wheelchair must fit into the trunk of a car.

The DMW will meet Thursday morning with other state agencies and advocates for the disabled to look for ways to accommodate people who are in motorized wheelchairs that won't fit in a car.

Brian Denny, who uses a motorized wheelchair after a warehouse accident last year left him paralyzed, says, "Being able to vote's your number one right, and just because you can't get out all the time doesn't mean you shouldn't have the ability to vote."

Tissot says the free-rides day is especially important to the handicapped. "A lot of times, people with disabilities are unable to drive due to their disability and are much less likely to have a photo ID, and this is just another obstacle to go vote," she says.