The U.S. Department of Justice has blocked South Carolina’s new law requiring voters to show photo IDs at the polls from taking effect, saying it violated the Voting Rights Act. The Justice Department said data submitted by South Carolina showed that minority voters were about 20 percent more likely to lack acceptable photo ID required at polling places. Backers of South Carolina’s new voter ID law says it is needed to prevent voter fraud, but the state did not submit any evidence to the Justice Department showing that voter fraud was a problem. In related news, a 93-year-old Tennessee woman who worked as maid at the State Capitol for 30 years says she has been told she can’t vote in the upcoming election because of Tennessee’s new voter ID regulations. Thelma Mitchell has a state ID she used when she cleaned the offices of Tennessee lawmakers, but she has been barred from voting because she cannot produce a birth certificate.