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Early Voting for South Carolina?

For years now, Democrats in the South Carolina State Legislature have tried to get early voting approved. They plan to try again this year, too. State Democratic Representative Joe Neal hopes the success of early voting elsewhere - coupled with long lines voters experienced in South Carolina - will finally change things. "What we need is to make voting as easy as possible for the citizens of this state," says Neal. "And we've seen it done successfully in NC and roughly 32 other states, so we know it works. What's lacking here is the political will." Republicans have blocked Neal's four previous attempts to pass early voting legislation. And Jay W. Ragley, the Executive Director of the South Carolina Republican Party, says this year will be no exception. "I don't think just because somebody had to wait an hour is enough to go and completely change the voting system in our state or across the nation," says Ragley. He believes there are too many chances for fraud with early voting. South Carolina Democrats say the Republican Party is just worried that it might lose elections, since early voters in many states heavily favored Democrats this year.