S 1268 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S 1268 General Bill, By Ryberg and Wilson
A Bill to provide for the popular election of judges.-short title
03/20/96 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-7
03/20/96 Senate Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-7
A BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 14-3-10 OF THE CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE COMPOSITION
AND ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE SUPREME COURT,
SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT MEMBERS OF THE SUPREME
COURT SHALL BE POPULARLY ELECTED FROM THE
STATE AT-LARGE BY THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE
STATE IN A NONPARTISAN ELECTION; TO AMEND
SECTION 14-3-40 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO
VACANCIES ON THE SUPREME COURT, SO AS TO
PROVIDE THAT VACANCIES SHALL BE FILLED BY
APPOINTMENT BY THE GOVERNOR, WITH THE ADVICE
AND CONSENT OF THE SENATE, FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE UNEXPIRED TERM; TO AMEND SECTION 14-5-110 OF
THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE QUALIFICATION FOR
OFFICE BY CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES, SO AS TO PROVIDE
THAT TERMS OF OFFICE FOR ALL CIRCUIT JUDGES
ELECTED AFTER JANUARY 1, 1997, SHALL COMMENCE AS
OF JANUARY FIRST OF THE YEAR FOLLOWING THE YEAR
IN WHICH THEY ARE ELECTED, RATHER THAN JUNE
THIRTIETH OF THE YEAR IN WHICH THEY ARE ELECTED,
AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE TERM OF ANY JUDGE IN
OFFICE ON JANUARY 1, 1997 WHICH EXPIRES ON JUNE
THIRTIETH OF A YEAR SHALL BE EXTENDED UNTIL
DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST OF THAT YEAR; TO AMEND
SECTION 14-5-610 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE
DIVISION OF THE STATE INTO JUDICIAL CIRCUITS AND
THE ELECTION OF JUDGES THEREIN, SO AS TO INCREASE
THE NUMBER OF JUDGES ELECTED IN EACH CIRCUIT, TO
DELETE PROVISIONS RELATING TO AT-LARGE JUDGES,
AND TO ASSIGN THE NUMBERED AT-LARGE SEATS TO
PARTICULAR JUDICIAL CIRCUITS; TO AMEND SECTION
14-8-20 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO ELECTION OF
MEMBERS OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, SO AS TO
PROVIDE THAT JUDGES OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
SHALL BE POPULARLY ELECTED FROM THE STATE
AT-LARGE BY THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF THE STATE IN
A NONPARTISAN ELECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 14-8-60
OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO VACANCIES ON THE
COURT OF APPEALS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT
VACANCIES SHALL BE FILLED BY APPOINTMENT BY THE
GOVERNOR, WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE
SENATE, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE UNEXPIRED
TERM; TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-1370 OF THE 1976 CODE,
RELATING TO THE QUALIFICATIONS, ELECTION AND
TERMS OF FAMILY COURT JUDGES, SO AS TO PROVIDE
THAT FAMILY COURT JUDGES SHALL BE POPULARLY
ELECTED FROM THE JUDICIAL CIRCUITS BY THE
QUALIFIED VOTERS OF EACH CIRCUIT IN A
NONPARTISAN ELECTION AND TO PROVIDE THAT
VACANCIES SHALL BE FILLED BY APPOINTMENT BY THE
GOVERNOR, WITH THE ADVICE AND CONSENT OF THE
SENATE, FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE UNEXPIRED
TERM; TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-10 OF THE 1976 CODE,
RELATING TO METHODS OF NOMINATING
CANDIDATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CANDIDATES
FOR THE OFFICE OF FAMILY COURT JUDGE, CIRCUIT
COURT JUDGE, JUDGE OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, OR
JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT SHALL BE NOMINATED
IN A NONPARTISAN PRIMARY TO BE HELD JOINTLY WITH
POLITICAL PARTY PRIMARIES; TO AMEND CHAPTER 11,
TITLE 7 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE
DESIGNATION AND NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES, BY
ADDING SECTION 7-11-23 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR
NONPARTISAN PRIMARIES FOR THE ELECTION OF
JUDGES; TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-10 OF THE 1976 CODE,
RELATING TO THE TIME OF GENERAL ELECTIONS FOR
OFFICERS, SO AS TO INCLUDE JUDICIAL OFFICERS
AMONG THOSE WHO MUST BE ELECTED AT THE TIME OF
THE GENERAL ELECTION; TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-15 OF
THE CODE, RELATING TO THE DATE OF PRIMARY
ELECTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A NONPARTISAN
PRIMARY TO NOMINATE CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION AS
JUDGES SHALL BE HELD JOINTLY WITH THE POLITICAL
PRIMARIES ON THE SECOND TUESDAY IN JUNE OF EACH
GENERAL ELECTION YEAR; TO AMEND CHAPTER 13,
TITLE 7 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO THE CONDUCT
OF ELECTIONS, BY ADDING SECTION 7-13-335 SO AS TO
PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH NAMES OF
CANDIDATES MUST BE PLACED ON THE BALLOT IN A
NONPARTISAN ELECTION FOR THE ELECTION OF JUDGES
AND BY ADDING SECTION 7-13-630 SO AS TO PROVIDE
FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH NAMES OF CANDIDATES
MUST BE PLACED ON THE BALLOT IN A NONPARTISAN
PRIMARY FOR THE ELECTION OF JUDGES; TO AMEND
SECTION 8-13-1314 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS AND RESTRICTIONS,
SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT NO CANDIDATE FOR THE
SUPREME COURT OR COURT OF APPEALS MAY SOLICIT
OR ACCEPT A CONTRIBUTION WHICH EXCEEDS FIVE
HUNDRED DOLLARS IN AN ELECTION CYCLE, AND THAT
NO CANDIDATE FOR CIRCUIT COURT OR FAMILY COURT
MAY SOLICIT OR ACCEPT A CONTRIBUTION WHICH
EXCEEDS TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS IN AN ELECTION
CYCLE; TO AMEND SECTION 8-13-1316 OF THE 1976 CODE,
RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS ON CAMPAIGN
CONTRIBUTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT NO
CANDIDATE FOR JUDICIAL OFFICE OR ANYONE ACTING
ON HIS BEHALF MAY SOLICIT OR ACCEPT A
CONTRIBUTION FROM A POLITICAL PARTY OR A PARTY
COMMITTEE OR A LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS COMMITTEE OF
A POLITICAL PARTY; TO PROVIDE THAT AN AT-LARGE
CIRCUIT COURT JUDGE SERVING IN OFFICE ON THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ACT WHOSE SEAT IS ASSIGNED
TO A JUDICIAL CIRCUIT PURSUANT TO THIS ACT DOES
NOT HAVE TO BE A RESIDENT OF THE CIRCUIT TO
WHICH HIS SEAT IS ASSIGNED AND MAY SEEK ELECTION
WHEN HIS TERM EXPIRES IN THE NONPARTISAN
ELECTION HELD PURSUANT TO THIS ACT IN THE CIRCUIT
TO WHICH HIS SEAT IS ASSIGNED; AND TO PROVIDE
THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT TAKE EFFECT UPON
RATIFICATION OF AMENDMENTS TO SECTIONS 3 AND 8
OF ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS STATE,
REQUIRING THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE SUPREME
COURT AND THE COURT OF APPEALS BE ELECTED BY
THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THIS STATE AND TO
SECTION 13, ARTICLE V OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THIS
STATE, REQUIRING THAT CIRCUIT COURT JUDGES BE
ELECTED BY THE QUALIFIED ELECTORS OF THE
JUDICIAL CIRCUITS DIVIDED BY THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
PART I
SECTION 1. Section 14-3-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 14-3-10. The Supreme Court shall consist of a
Chief Justice and four associate justices, who shall be elected
from the state at-large by a joint viva voce vote of the
General Assembly popular vote of the qualified voters of
the state in a nonpartisan election for a term of ten years and
shall continue in office until their successors are elected and
qualified. They shall be so classified that one of them shall go out
of office every two years. The successors of the Chief Justice
and associate justices shall each be elected at the session of the
General Assembly next preceding the expiration of their respective
terms. When the term of each judge who was elected by the
General Assembly expires, his successor shall be elected in the
manner provided in this section. The time for the
commencement of their terms of office shall be the first day of
August January after their election. The term of
any justice in office on January 1, 1997, which expires on July
thirty-first of a year shall be extended until December thirty-first of
that year. The term of any justice whose term expires in any
odd-numbered year is hereby extended until December thirty-first of
the next even-numbered year."
SECTION 2. Section 14-3-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 14-3-40. All vacancies in the Supreme Court shall
be filled by elections as herein prescribed; provided, that if
the unexpired term does not exceed one year such vacancy may be
filled by executive appointment by the Governor with the
advice and consent of the Senate. When a vacancy is so filled
by either appointment or election, the incumbent shall hold
only for the unexpired term of his predecessor."
SECTION 3. Section 14-5-110 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 14-5-110. The circuit judges of this State, upon
their election, shall qualify by taking the oath required by the
Constitution of this State before a justice of the Supreme Court, the
President of the Senate, the Speaker or Speaker Emeritus of the
House of Representatives, a circuit judge, a clerk of the Supreme
Court, a clerk of the court of common pleas or a probate judge of
the county, and shall forthwith enter upon their duties. Such oath
must be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. Terms of office
for all circuit judges elected after January 1, 1977
January 1, 1997, shall commence as of July
January first of the year following the year in
which they are elected. The term of any judge in office on
January 1, 1997, which expires on June thirtieth of a year shall be
extended until December thirty-first of that year. The term of any
judge whose term expires in any odd-numbered year is hereby
extended until December thirty-first of the next even-numbered
year."
SECTION 4. Section 14-5-610 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 14-5-610. The State is divided into sixteen
judicial circuits as follows:
(1) The first circuit is composed of the counties of Calhoun,
Dorchester, and Orangeburg.
(2) The second circuit is composed of the counties of Aiken,
Bamberg, and Barnwell.
(3) The third circuit is composed of the counties of Clarendon,
Lee, Sumter, and Williamsburg.
(4) The fourth circuit is composed of the counties of
Chesterfield, Darlington, Marlboro, and Dillon.
(5) The fifth circuit is composed of the counties of Kershaw and
Richland.
(6) The sixth circuit is composed of the counties of Chester,
Lancaster, and Fairfield.
(7) The seventh circuit is composed of the counties of Cherokee
and Spartanburg.
(8) The eighth circuit is composed of the counties of Abbeville,
Greenwood, Laurens, and Newberry.
(9) The ninth circuit is composed of the counties of Charleston
and Berkeley.
(10) The tenth circuit is composed of the counties of Anderson
and Oconee.
(11) The eleventh circuit is composed of the counties of
Lexington, McCormick, Saluda, and Edgefield.
(12) The twelfth circuit is composed of the counties of Florence
and Marion.
(13) The thirteenth circuit is composed of the counties of
Greenville and Pickens.
(14) The fourteenth circuit is composed of the counties of
Allendale, Hampton, Colleton, Jasper, and Beaufort.
(15) The fifteenth circuit is composed of the counties of
Georgetown and Horry.
(16) The sixteenth circuit is composed of the counties of York
and Union.
One judge Two judges must be elected from the
first, second, sixth, twelfth fifteenth, and sixteenth
circuits. Two Three judges must be elected from the
third, fourth, seventh, eighth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and
fourteenth, and fifteenth circuits. Three Four
judges must be elected from the fifth, ninth, and thirteenth circuits.
Each judgeship in a circuit shall be serially numbered beginning
with the number (1). Any candidate for the office of circuit court
judge shall specifically file and run for a serially-numbered
judgeship in the circuit.
In addition to the above judges authorized by this section,
there must be thirteen additional circuit judges elected by the
General Assembly from the State at large for terms of office of six
years. These additional judges must be elected without regard to
county or circuit of residence. Each office of the at-large judges is
a separate office and is assigned numerical designations of Seat No.
1 through Seat No. 13 respectively.
The numbered at-large seats shall be redesignated as seats in
the judicial circuits as follows:
Seat No. 1, sixteenth circuit;
Seat No. 2, ninth circuit;
Seat No. 3, third circuit;
Seat No. 4, thirteenth circuit;
Seat No. 5, seventh circuit;
Seat No. 6, fourth circuit;
Seat No. 7, tenth circuit;
Seat No. 8, sixth circuit;
Seat No. 9, eleventh circuit;
Seat No. 10, fifth circuit;
Seat No. 11, eighth circuit;
Seat No. 12, twelfth circuit; and
Seat No. 13, fifteenth circuit."
SECTION 5. Section 14-8-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 14-8-20. (a) The members of the Court shall be
elected from the state at-large by joint public vote of
the General Assembly popular vote of the qualified electors
of the state in the nonpartisan election for a term of six years
and until their successors are elected and qualify; provided,
however, that of those judges initially elected, the Chief Judge (Seat
5) and the judge elected to Seat 6 shall be elected for terms of six
years each, the judges elected to Seats 3 and 4 shall be elected for
terms of four years each, and the judges elected to Seats 1 and 2
shall be elected for terms of two years each. The terms of office of
the judges of the Court shall begin on July 1, 1985. Prior to such
date, the General Assembly shall have authority to take such
measures as necessary to secure accommodations, personnel,
supplies, and equipment and such other matters as may be necessary
to effect full implementation of the Court for operation by such
date. When the term of each judge who was elected by the
General Assembly expires, his successor shall be elected in the
manner provided in this section. The term of any judge whose term
expires in any odd-numbered year shall be extended until December
thirty-first of the next even-numbered year.
(b) Each seat on the Court shall be numbered. Candidates shall
be required to file for a specific seat. Seat five shall be designated
as the office of Chief Judge and shall be a separate and distinct
office for the purpose of an election.
(c) In any contested election, the vote of each member of the
General Assembly present and voting shall be recorded; provided,
that the provisions of Chapter 19 of Title 2 shall be followed in the
course of electing the members of the Court."
SECTION 6. Section 14-8-60 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 14-8-60. All vacancies in the Court shall be filled
in the manner of original election; provided, that if the
unexpired term does not exceed one year such vacancy may be
filled by executive appointment by appointment by the
Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. When a
vacancy is filled, the judge selected shall hold office only for the
unexpired term of his predecessor."
SECTION 7. Section 20-7-1370 of the 1976 Code is amended
to read:
"Section 20-7-1370. A. No person shall be eligible to the
office of family court judge who is not at the time of his assuming
the duties of such office a citizen of the United States and of this
State, and has not attained the age of twenty-six years, has not been
a licensed attorney at law for at least five years, and has not been a
resident of this State for five years next preceding his election, and
is not a resident of the circuit wherein the family court of which he
is a judge is located. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
any former member of the General Assembly may be elected to the
office of family court judge.
B. Family court judges must be elected by the General
Assembly for terms of six years and until their successors are
elected and qualify. Family court judges shall be elected
from the judicial circuits. One or more judges shall be elected from
each judicial election district by popular vote of the qualified voters
of the district in a nonpartisan election. When the term of each
judge who was elected by the General Assembly expires, his
successor shall be elected in the manner provided in this
section.
C. Each family court judge shall hold office for a term of
six years and until his successor is elected and qualifies, and at the
time of his election he shall be an elector of a county of, and during
his continuance in office he shall reside in, the county in which he
is elected. The terms of all family court judges expire on the
thirtieth day of June thirty-first day of December of
the year in which their terms are scheduled to expire. The term
of any judge in office on January 1, 1997, which expires on the
thirtieth day of June of a year shall be extended until the thirty-first
day of December of that year. The term of any judge whose term
expires in any odd-numbered year shall be extended until December
thirty-first of the next even-numbered year.
D. For the purpose of electing family court judges, if more than
one judge is to be elected from a circuit, each judgeship in that
circuit shall be serially numbered beginning with the number (1)
and the General Assembly shall elect a judge for each such
judgeship. Any candidate for the office of family court judge in
a circuit shall specifically file and run for a serially-numbered
judgeship in that circuit.
E. When a vacancy occurs for an unexpired term in an office
of family court judge, the Governor, upon recommendation of
the Chief Justice, shall commission appoint a
temporary family court judge to fill such vacancy,
until such time as the General Assembly shall elect a
successor who shall serve for the remainder of the unexpired
term. Such temporary family court judge shall receive as
compensation for his services the salary paid to a regular family
court judge and in addition thereto shall also receive the subsistence
and mileage as authorized by law for family court judges."
PART II
SECTION 8. Section 7-11-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 7-11-10. (A) Nominations for
candidates for the offices to be voted on in a general or special
election may be by political party primary, by political party
convention or by petition; provided, no person who was defeated
as a candidate for nomination to an office in a party primary or
party convention shall have his name placed on the ballot for the
ensuing general or special election, except that this proviso shall not
prevent a defeated candidate from later becoming his party's
nominee for that office in that election if the candidate first selected
as the party's nominee dies, resigns, is disqualified, or otherwise
ceases to become the party's nominee for such office before the
election is held.
(B) Candidates for the office of family court judge, circuit
court judge, Judge of the Court of Appeals, or Justice of the
Supreme Court shall be nominated in the nonpartisan primary
preceding the nonpartisan election in which the candidates' names
will be listed on the ballot.
(C) Primaries of all political parties and all nonpartisan
primaries shall be conducted jointly."
SECTION 9. Chapter 11, Title 7 of the 1976 is amended by
adding:
"Section 7-11-23. The names of all candidates who have
qualified with the Secretary of State for the office of judge of a
superior court, Judge of the Court of Appeals, or Justice of the
Supreme Court of this State and the names of all candidates who
have qualified with the election superintendent for the office of
judge of a state court shall be placed on the ballot in a nonpartisan
primary to be held and conducted jointly with the general primary
in each even-numbered year. The official ballot in the nonpartisan
election which shall be held and conducted jointly with the regular
general election in each even-numbered year. No candidates for
any such office shall be nominated by a political party or by a
petition as a candidate of a political body or as an independent
candidate. In a nonpartisan primary, candidates for any such office
shall have their names placed on the nonpartisan portion of each
political party ballot by complying to such nonpartisan candidates
and by paying the requisite qualifying fees as candidates for those
voters not affiliated with a political party. Candidates shall be
listed on the official ballot in a nonpartisan primary and in a
nonpartisan election as provided in Sections 7-13-335 and 7-13-630,
respectively. Except as otherwise specified in this chapter, the
procedures to be employed in conducting the nonpartisan primary
and nonpartisan election of family court judges, circuit court judges,
Judges of the Court of Appeals, and Justices of the Supreme Court
shall conform as nearly as practicable to the procedures governing
general primaries and general elections; and such general primary
and general election procedures as are necessary to complete this
nonpartisan election process shall be adopted in a manner consistent
with such nonpartisan primaries and nonpartisan elections."
SECTION 10. Section 7-13-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 7-13-10. General elections for Federal,
State federal, state, and county officers in this
State, including elections for judicial offices, shall be held
on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November in
each even-numbered year at such voting places as have been or may
be established by law. All general or special elections held pursuant
to the Constitution of this State shall be regulated and conducted
according to the rules, principles, and provisions herein
prescribed."
SECTION 11. Section 7-13-15 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 7-13-15. (A) Except for municipal
primaries, all primaries for national offices, excluding the Office of
President, and all primaries for state offices, offices including more
than one county, and countywide and less than countywide offices,
specifically including, but not limited to, all school boards and
school trustees, special purpose district offices, which include, but
are not limited to, water, sewer, fire, soil conservation, and other
similar district offices, must be conducted by the State Election
Commission and the county election commissions on the second
Tuesday in June of each general election year.
(B) Whenever any nonpartisan primary is held to nominate
candidates for the office of family court judge, circuit court judge,
Judge of the Court of Appeals, or Justice of the Supreme Court to
be filled in the ensuing November election, such primary shall be
held jointly with the political primaries on the second Tuesday in
June of each general election year."
SECTION 12. Chapter 13, Title 7 of the 1976 Code is amended
by adding:
"Section 7-13-335. The names of all candidates
nominated in the nonpartisan primary for the office of family court
judge, circuit court judge, Judge of the Court of Appeals, or Justice
of the Supreme Court shall be printed on each official election
ballot; and insofar as practicable such offices to be filled in the
nonpartisan election shall be separated from the names of candidates
for other offices by being listed last on each ballot, with the top of
that portion of each official election ballot relating to the
nonpartisan election of judges to have printed in prominent type the
words `OFFICIAL NONPARTISAN ELECTION BALLOT.'
Immediately under this caption the following directions shall be
printed: `Place a check or cross mark in the square opposite the
name of each nonpartisan candidate for whom you choose to vote.
To vote for a person whose name is not on the ballot, manually
write his or her name, accompanied by the title of the office
involved, in the write-in column. If you spoil your ballot, do not
erase, but ask for a new ballot. Use only pen or pencil.'
Immediately under the directions, the name of each nonpartisan
candidate shall be shall be arranged under the title at the office for
which the candidate was nominated in the official nonpartisan
primary. No party designation or affiliation shall appear beside the
name of any candidate for nonpartisan office. An appropriate space
shall also be placed on the ballot for the casting of write-in votes
for such offices. In the event that no candidate in such nonpartisan
election receives a plurality of the total votes case for such office,
there shall be a nonpartisan election runoff between the candidates
receiving the two highest numbers of votes; and the names of such
candidates shall be placed on the official ballot at the general
election runoff in the same manner as prescribed in this section for
the nonpartisan election. In the event that only nonpartisan
candidates for judges are to be placed on a run-off ballot, the form
of the ballot shall be as prescribed by the Secretary of State or
election superintendent in essentially the same format as prescribed
for the nonpartisan election of judges. The candidate having a
plurality of the votes cast in the nonpartisan election or the
candidate receiving the highest numbers of votes cast in the
nonpartisan election runoff shall be declared duly elected to such
office."
SECTION 13. Chapter 13, Title 7 of the 1976 Code is amended
by adding:
"Section 7-13-630. The names of all candidates seeking
nomination in the nonpartisan primary for the office of judge of a
state court, judge of a superior court, Judge of the Court of
Appeals, or Justice of the Supreme Court shall be printed on the
ballot of each political party; and insofar as practicable such offices
to be filled in a nonpartisan primary shall be separated from the
names of political party candidates by being listed last on each
political party ballot, with the top of that portion of the ballot
relating to the nonpartisan primary for judges to have printed in
prominent type the words `OFFICIAL NONPARTISAN PRIMARY
BALLOT.' Immediately under this caption the following directions
shall be printed: `Place a check or cross mark in the square
opposite the name of each nonpartisan candidate for whom you
choose to vote. To vote for a person whose name is not on the
ballot, manually write his or her name, accompanied by the title of
the office involved, in the write-in column. If you spoil your
ballot, do not erase, but ask for a new ballot. Use only pen or
pencil.' Immediately under the directions, the names of the
nonpartisan candidates shall in all cases be printed thereunder in
alphabetical order. No party designation or affiliation shall appear
beside the name of any candidate for nonpartisan office. The
incumbency of a nonpartisan candidate seeking nomination for the
public office he then holds shall be indicated on the ballots by
printing the word `Incumbent' beside his name. Under the title of
each office shall be placed a direction as to the number of
nonpartisan candidates to be voted for. The votes cast for each
nonpartisan candidate listed on all political party ballots shall be
combined to determine the total number of votes received by each
candidate in the nonpartisan primary. In the event that a candidate
in such nonpartisan primary does not receive a majority of the total
votes cast for such office, there shall be a nonpartisan primary
runoff between the candidates receiving the two highest numbers of
votes for such office; and the names of such candidates shall be
placed on each political party ballot at the general primary runoff in
the same nonpartisan portion as prescribed in this section. If no
political party runoff is required, the form of the ballot for the
nonpartisan primary runoff shall be prescribed by the State Election
Commission in essentially the same format prescribed for
nonpartisan primaries. The candidate receiving a majority of the
total votes cast in the nonpartisan primary or the candidate
receiving the highest number of votes cast in the nonpartisan
primary runoff shall be the only candidate for such office to have
his name placed on the nonpartisan election ballot, and such person
may be referred to as the nominee for such office or as the
candidate nominated for such office."
PART III
SECTION 14. Sections 8-13-1314 and Section 8-13-1316 of the
1976 Code are amended to read:
"Section 8-13-1314. (A) Within an election cycle, no
candidate or anyone acting on his behalf may solicit or accept:
(1) a contribution which exceeds:
(a) three thousand five hundred dollars in the case of a
candidate for statewide office, other than a candidate for
judicial office; or
(b) one thousand dollars in the case of a candidate for any
other office, other than a candidate for judicial office;
(c) five hundred dollars in the case of a candidate for
the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals; or
(d) two hundred dollars in the case of a candidate for
circuit court or family court;
(2) a cash contribution from an individual unless the cash
contribution does not exceed twenty-five dollars and is accompanied
by a record of the amount of the contribution and the name and
address of the contributor;
(3) a contribution from a registered lobbyist if that lobbyist
engages in lobbying the public office or public body for which the
candidate is seeking election;
(4) contributions for two elective offices simultaneously,
except as provided in Section 8-13-1318.
(B) The restrictions on contributions in subsections (A)(1) and
(A)(2) do not apply to a candidate making a contribution to his own
campaign.
Section 8-13-1316. (A) Within an election cycle, a candidate
may not accept or receive contributions from a political party
through its party committees or legislative caucus committees which
total in the aggregate more than:
(1) fifty thousand dollars in the case of a candidate for
statewide office;
(2) five thousand dollars in the case of a candidate for any
other office.
(B) Party expenditures for partisan multi-candidate promotions
for four or more candidates, including candidates for the United
States Senate or the United States House of Representatives, where
each candidate receives substantially equal treatment, both in terms
of time or length discussed and prominence in presentation, shall
not be included in the contribution limits under subsection (A).
However, multi-candidate promotional expenditures are limited to:
(1) the operation of telephone banks;
(2) the preparation, mailing, and distribution of campaign
materials including newspaper, television, and radio advertisements;
or
(3) voter registration and ballot information.
(C) No candidate for judicial office or anyone acting on his
behalf may solicit or accept a contribution from a political party or
a party committee or a legislative caucus committee of a political
party."
PART IV
SECTION 15. An at-large circuit court judge serving in office on
the effective date of this act whose seat is assigned to a judicial
circuit pursuant to this act does not have to be a resident of the
circuit to which his seat is assigned and may seek election when his
term expires in the nonpartisan election held pursuant to this act in
the circuit to which his seat is assigned.
PART V
SECTION 16. This act takes effect upon ratification of
amendments to Sections 3 and 8 of Article V of the Constitution of
this State, requiring that the members of the Supreme Court and the
Court of Appeals be elected by the qualified electors of this State
and to Section 13, Article V of the Constitution of this State,
requiring that circuit court judges be elected by the qualified
electors of the judicial circuits divided by the General Assembly.
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