The S.C. Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a judge's order that temporarily blocked the release of voter registration information of the state's more than 3.3 million voters.
The reversal means that the State Election Commission can now release South Carolina's voter rolls to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The DOJ has asked that the data include names, birth dates, home addresses, driver's license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers.
It's not clear when specifically the State Election Commission plans to release the data.
Spokesman John Michael Catalano said late Thursday that the Commission is working with the DOJ to develop an agreement that "ensures any data sharing is conducted in full compliance with the law while protecting the privacy of South Carolina voters."
A unified Supreme Court said in its six-page opinion that Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein's issuance of a temporary restraining order early this month was "clearly erroneous" because the justices said it did not comply with court rules requirements.
Voter Anne Crook sued the State Election Commission back in August, arguing the release of sensitive personal information in part violated the state Constitution's privacy right.
The DOJ had given the Commission an extension deadline of Sept. 5.
Goodstein's order halted the information's release.
In the opinion, the state's high court also rejected a request by Crook's attorney to require Gov. Henry McMaster, who requested to intervene in the case, testify. The Supreme Court said Crook failed to show that McMaster had unique knowledge or information that could not be obtained elsewhere.
The Supreme Court said "absent extraordinary circumstances, top-level executive officials should not be called to testify or deposed regarding their reasons for taking local office."
The Supreme Court plans to make a decision in the State Election Commission's request for a venue change over the lawsuit within 10 days.
The federal government's request for South Carolina voter data is part of a multi-state effort to collect voter and election information.
The State Election Commission completed its statewide registration check back in July.
Early this year, the State Election Commission mailed voter confirmation cards to more than 191,000 registered voters who had not voted or updated their voter registration since the 2020 general election.
As of July 1, of those who received confirmation cards, 23,000 voters remained active and 168,000 voters were made inactive, which does not remove that voter from the rolls. The Commission said inactive voters remain eligible to vote but they will have to reactivate their registration by voting or updating their information on the State Election Commission's website.
