S*372 Session 105 (1983-1984)
S*0372(Rat #0269, Act #0263 of 1984) General Bill, By Senate Judiciary
Similar(H 2729)
A Bill to amend Sections 7-9-10 and 7-13-350, as amended, Code of Laws of
South Carolina, 1976, relating to elections, so as to change the procedure for
obtaining party certification by petition and to eliminate provisions for
nominating candidates by petition; to amend the 1976 Code by adding Section
7-11-85 and 7-13-351, so as to provide procedure in cases involving
nominations by petition.
03/23/83 Senate Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference SJ-778
04/27/83 Senate Read second time SJ-1137
04/28/83 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-1162
05/02/83 House Introduced and read first time HJ-2485
05/02/83 House Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-2485
01/12/84 House Committee report: Favorable Judiciary HJ-398
01/17/84 House Debate adjourned HJ-480
01/18/84 House Read second time HJ-543
01/19/84 House Read third time and enrolled HJ-572
01/24/84 Ratified R 269
01/27/84 Signed By Governor
01/27/84 Effective date 01/27/84
01/27/84 Act No. 263
02/02/84 Copies available
(A263, R269, S372)
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 7-9-10 AND 7-13-350, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH
CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ELECTIONS, SO AS TO CHANGE THE PROCEDURE FOR
OBTAINING PARTY CERTIFICATION BY PETITION AND TO ELIMINATE PROVISIONS FOR
NOMINATING CANDIDATES BY PETITION; TO AMEND THE 1976 CODE BY ADDING SECTIONS
7-11-85 AND 7-13-351, SO AS TO PROVIDE PROCEDURE IN CASES INVOLVING NOMINATIONS
BY PETITION.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Certification of political parties
SECTION 1. Section 7-9-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-9-10. Political parties desiring to nominate candidates for
offices to be voted on in a general or special election must, before doing so,
have applied to the State Election Commission (Commission) for certification as
such. Parties heretofore certified must remain certified. Any other political
party, organization, or association may obtain such certification as a political
party at any time by filing with the Commission a petition for such certification
signed by ten thousand or more registered electors residing in this State, giving
the name of the party, which must be substantially different from the name of any
other party previously certified. No petition for certification may be submitted
to the Commission later than six months prior to any election in which the
political party seeking certification wishes to nominate candidates for public
office.
At the time a petition is submitted to the Commission for certification, the
Commission must issue a receipt to the person submitting the petition which
reflects the date the petition was submitted and the total number of signatures
contained therein. Once the petition is received by the Commission, the person
submitting the petition may not submit or add additional signatures.
If the Commission determines, after checking the validity of the signatures in
the petition, that it does not contain the required signatures of registered
electors, the person submitting the petition must be so notified and may not
submit any new petition seeking certification as a political party under the same
name for one year from the date the petition was rejected.
Once a petition for certification has been submitted and rejected by the
Commission, the same signatures may not be submitted in any subsequent petition
to certify a new political party.
Once submitted for verification, a petition for certification may not be
returned to the political party, organization, or association seeking
certification, but must become a part of the permanent records of the
Commission."
Nomination by petition
SECTION 2. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 7-11-85. Every signature on a petition requiring five hundred or
less signatures must be checked for validity by the respective county board of
voter registration against the signatures of the voters on the original
applications for registration on file in the registration board office. When a
petition requires more than five hundred signatures, every one of the first five
hundred signatures must be checked for validity and at least one out of every ten
signatures thereafter beginning with the five hundred and first signature must
be checked for validity. If the projected number of valid signatures, using this
percentage method for the signatures over five hundred plus the number of valid
signatures in the first five hundred, total at least the number of signatures
required by law on the petition, it must be certified as a valid petition. No
petition, however, may be rejected if the number of signatures over five hundred
checked using the percentage method plus the number of valid signatures in the
first five hundred does not total at least the number required by law. If
insufficient signatures are found using the percentage method in order to certify
it as a valid petition, the board of voter registration must check every
signature over five hundred separately, or such number over five hundred until
the required number of valid signatures is found.
If it is a petition seeking to certify a new political party or if the office
for which the petition has been submitted comprises more than one county, and
using the percentage method of checking does not result in the required number
of valid signatures, the executive director of the Commission shall designate
which counties must check additional signatures.
No signatures on a petition may be rejected if the address of a voter,
registration certificate number of a voter, or the precinct of a voter, as
required by Section 7-11-80, is missing or incorrect if the signature is
otherwise valid. The signature of a voter may only be rejected if it is
illegible and cannot be found in the records of the board of voter registration,
is missing from the petition, or is not that of the voter, or if the registration
of the voter has been deleted for any of the reasons named in items (2) or (3)
of Subsection (C) of Section 7-3-20.
The board of voter registration shall complete a summary form containing the
results of checking any petition and must give the completed form to the
requesting authority. The form used for this purpose must be prescribed and
provided by the executive director."
Certified candidates nominated by petition, primary or convention shall be
placed on ballot
SECTION 3. Section 7-13-350 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 644 of
1976, is further amended to read:
Section 7-13-350. The nominees in a party primary or party convention held under
the provisions of this Title by any political party certified by the Commission
under this Title for one or more of the offices, national, state, circuit,
multicounty district or county, to be voted on in the general election shall be
placed upon the appropriate ballot for the election as candidates nominated by
party by the authority charged by law with preparing the ballot if the names of
the nominees are certified by the political party chairman, vice-chairman, or
secretary to such authority, for general elections held under Section 7-13-10,
not later than twelve o'clock noon on September first, or if September first
falls on Sunday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following
Monday."
Nomination by petition
SECTION 4. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 7-13-351. Any nominee by petition for one or more of the offices,
national, state, circuit, multicounty district or county, to be voted on in the
general election must be placed upon the appropriate ballot by the officer,
commissioners, or other authority charged by law with preparing the ballot if the
petition is submitted to the officer, commissioner, or other authority, as the
case may be, for general elections held under Section 7-13-10, not later than
twelve o'clock noon on August first, or if August first falls on Sunday, not
later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday. At the time the petition
is submitted, the authority charged with accepting it must issue a receipt to the
person submitting the petition which must reflect the date it was submitted and
the total number of signatures contained therein. The board of voter
registration of each respective county must check the petition at the request of
the authority charged with printing the ballot for that office and must certify
the results to the authority not later than twelve o'clock noon September first,
or if September first falls on Sunday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the
following Monday.
The petition of any candidate in any special or municipal election must be
submitted to the authority charged with printing the ballot for those offices not
later than noon, on the forty-fifth day prior to the date of the holding of the
election, or if the forty-fifth day falls on Sunday, by not later than twelve
o'clock noon on the following Monday. At the time a petition is submitted, the
authority charged with accepting it must issue a receipt to the person submitting
the petition which must reflect the date it was submitted and the total number
of signatures contained therein. The board of voter registration of each
respective county must check the petition at the request of the authority charged
with printing of the ballots for that office and must certify the results thereof
to the authority not later than twelve o'clock noon on the thirtieth day prior
to the date of holding the election, or if the thirtieth day falls on Sunday, by
twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday.
Once submitted for verification, a petition for nomination of a candidate for
any office may not be returned to the petitioner, but must be retained by the
authority to whom the petition was submitted and must become a part of the
records of the election for which it was submitted."
Time effective
SECTION 5. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor. |