South Carolina General Assembly
107th Session, 1987-1988

Bill 554


                    Current Status

Bill Number:               554
Ratification Number:       168
Act Number                 121
Introducing Body:          Senate
Subject:                   Procedure for counting ballots
                           unsuccessfully challenged
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A121, R168, S554)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-830, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO PROCEDURES TO BE FOLLOWED WHEN THE QUALIFICATIONS OF AN ELECTOR ARE CHALLENGED, SO AS TO CLARIFY THE PROCEDURE FOR COUNTING BALLOTS UNSUCCESSFULLY CHALLENGED.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Challenged ballots counted

SECTION 1. Section 7-13-830 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 7-13-830. When any person is so challenged the manager shall explain to him the qualifications of an elector and may examine his as to the same; and if the person insists that he

is qualified and the challenge is not withdrawn his vote must be received and placed in an envelope on which must be written the name of the voter and that of the challenger. The challenged votes must be kept separate and apart and not counted, but turned over to the commissioners of election or the county committee having supervision of the election. At the meeting specified in either Section 7-17-10 or 7-17-510, whichever is applicable, this authority shall hear all objections to the votes and when no person appears to sustain an objection made at the polls the ballot is no longer a challenged ballot. When the challenger appears, or produces witnesses in support of the challenge, the committee in charge shall proceed to hear and determine the question. Its decision is final. Each ballot which is no longer challenged and each ballot whose challenge was decided in favor of the voter must be removed from the envelope, mingled, and counted and the totals added to the previously counted regular ballot total of all precincts without attribution to a particular precinct. If the voting at the voting place is by voting machine, the managers shall provide a paper ballot which must be placed in an envelope and treated as provided in this section."

Time Effective

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.