First, show your face

RARE is the governor so passionate about a piece of legislation that she offers to turn chauffeur. Yet that is just what Nikki Haley, South Carolina's governor, did after hearing complaints about a bill passed by the state legislature requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID. More than 178,000 registered voters in South Carolina lack such formal identification. Opponents of the bill claim it discriminates against black and poor voters. “Find me those people that think that this is invading their rights,” Mrs Haley said tartly, responding to such claims, “and I will go take them to the DMV [the Department of Motor Vehicles, which issues driving licences with photographs] myself.” In the end, Mrs Haley did not drive anyone anywhere, though she has ordered the state to ferry voters without ID to the DMV free of charge on September 28th.

Even that offer may be moot. Under the terms of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), South Carolina, along with part or all of 15 other (mostly Southern) states, must submit changes to its election practices to the Justice Department. In August the department requested additional information from the state about how it intends to implement the law. Some have interpreted this request as a sign that the department has reservations about the new law, and may strike it down for violating the VRA.