The law authorized the state's Department of Motor Vehicles to create a license plate that had to contain "the words 'I Believe' and a cross superimposed on a stained glass window.

After an unsuccessful attempt at implementing a similar license plate in Florida, Lieutenant Governor André Bauer proposed the "I Believe" Act with State Senator Yancey McGill.

The Department of Motor Vehicles debuted the new license plate on their website on October 30, 2008, and began taking orders from residents.

[2] The defendant and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, Marcia S. Adams, considered the proposed license plate's purpose a secular one.

The Attorney General of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, argued another position when he gave his amicus curiae brief.

Instead of making it easier for all groups to get custom plates, the bill only allowed "I Believe" to be backed by a cross and stained glass window.

The fact that the plate idea was not initiated by any group or organization, but by the Lieutenant Governor André Bauer, allowed the court to quickly rule that the government's action did not have a secular purpose.

[2] When Lieutenant Governor André Bauer and Attorney General Henry McMaster went around the state speaking at church rallies in support of the "I Believe" Act, they not only caused further entanglement, but also went back on the decision in Elk Grove Unified School District v. Newdow.