Alan Clemmons, South Carolina Rep, Admits 'Poorly Considered' Reply To Racist Email On Voter ID Law

Source: Huffington Post

Alan Clemmons, South Carolina Rep, Admits 'Poorly Considered' Reply To Racist Email On Voter ID Law
Posted: 08/29/2012 12:24 pm Updated: 08/29/2012 12:32 pm

WASHINGTON -- The principal sponsor for South Carolina's voter ID law expressed regret on Tuesday in federal court that he thanked a supporter for a racist email about the state's ID law.

Garrard Beeney, an attorney representing civil rights groups including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU, read Alan Clemmons, a South Carolina state representative who authored the state's voter ID law, an email sent from a supporter regarding the law in federal court on Tuesday. Clemmons acknowledged his somewhat positive response to what he called an email that "certainly" included "a shade of racism."

The email sent to Clemmons said, "I don't buy that garbage that if a poor black person or an elderly one, that these people won't be able to get one. You listen to that big racist (Jim) Clyburn and Harpootlian talk and they make it sound like these people are too stupid to get one." It was sent by Ed Koziol and referring to African-American Rep. James Clyburn and the Democratic Party Chariman for South Carolina, Dick Harpootlian.

The email continued, saying that all the state legislature would have to do is give "a hundred dollar bill away if you came down with a voter ID card, and you would see how fast they got voter ID cards with their picture."

"It would be like a swarm of bees going after a watermelon," read the email.


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