South Carolina General Assembly
111th Session, 1995-1996

Bill 771


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                    771
Ratification Number:            225
Act Number:                     226
Type of Legislation:            General Bill GB
Introducing Body:               Senate
Introduced Date:                19950420
Primary Sponsor:                Holland 
All Sponsors:                   Holland and Williams 
Drafted Document Number:        JUD6047.DHH
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:   19960126
Governor's Action:              S
Date of Governor's Action:      19960212
Subject:                        Candidates, filing
                                requirements

History



Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________

------  19960222  Act No. A226
------  19960212  Signed by Governor
------  19960206  Ratified R225
House   19960126  Read third time, enrolled for
                  ratification
House   19960125  Unanimous consent for third
                  reading on the next Legislative day
House   19960125  Read second time
House   19960124  Committee report: Favorable              25 HJ
House   19950509  Introduced, read first time,             25 HJ
                  referred to Committee
Senate  19950505  Read third time, sent to House
Senate  19950504  Read second time
Senate  19950503  Committee report: Favorable              11 SJ
Senate  19950420  Introduced, read first time,             11 SJ
                  referred to Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


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

(A226, R225, S771)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-15, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS TO RUN AS A CANDIDATE IN GENERAL ELECTIONS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ALL CANDIDATES, EXCEPT FOR PETITION CANDIDATES, MUST FILE THEIR STATEMENTS OF INTENTION OF CANDIDACY BETWEEN THE SIXTEENTH OF MARCH AND THE THIRTIETH OF MARCH, TO PROVIDE THAT CANDIDATES SEEKING NOMINATION FOR THE OFFICE OF STATE SENATE OR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MUST FILE THEIR STATEMENTS OF INTENTION OF CANDIDACY WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THEIR RESPECTIVE PARTIES IN THEIR COUNTY OF RESIDENCE, WHICH MUST IN TURN TRANSMIT THESE STATEMENTS TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE STATE PARTY, AND TO DELETE PROVISIONS RELATING TO PETITION CANDIDATES; TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-210, RELATING TO NOTICE OF CANDIDACY AND PLEDGE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ALL CANDIDATES UNDER THIS SECTION MUST SUBMIT A NOTICE OR PLEDGE NO LATER THAN THE THIRTIETH OF MARCH; TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF CANDIDATES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT CERTIFICATION OF THE NAMES OF CANDIDATES TO BE PLACED ON PRIMARY BALLOTS MUST BE MADE NOT LATER THAN TWELVE O'CLOCK NOON ON APRIL NINTH; AND TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-190, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL VACANCIES, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT FILING FOR PETITION CANDIDATES MUST OPEN AT NOON ON THE ELEVENTH TUESDAY AFTER THE VACANCY OCCURS FOR A PERIOD TO CLOSE SEVEN DAYS LATER AT NOON.

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

Filing statement of candidacy

SECTION 1. Section 7-11-15 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 583 of 1990, is further amended to read:

"Section 7-11-15. In order to qualify as a candidate to run in the general election, all candidates seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention must file a statement of intention of candidacy between noon on March sixteenth and noon on March thirtieth as provided in this section.

(1) Candidates seeking nomination for a statewide, congressional, or district office which includes more than one county shall file their statements of intention of candidacy with the State Executive Committee of their respective party.

(2) Candidates seeking nomination for the state Senate or House of Representatives must file their statements of intention of candidacy with the county executive committee of their respective party in the county of their residence. The county committees must, within five days of the receipt of the statements, transmit them along with the applicable filing fees to the respective State Executive Committees. Provided, however, the county committees must report all filings to the state committees no later than five p.m. on March thirtieth. The State Executive Committees must certify candidates pursuant to Section 7-13-40.

(3) Candidates seeking nomination for a countywide or less than countywide office shall file their statements of intention of candidacy with the county executive committee of their respective party.

Except as provided herein, the county executive committee of any political party with whom statements of intention of candidacy are filed must file, in turn, all statements of intention of candidacy with the county election commission by noon on the tenth day following the deadline for filing statements by candidates. If the tenth day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the statements must be filed by noon the following day. The State Executive Committee of any political party with whom statements of intention of candidacy are filed must file, in turn, all the statements of intention of candidacy with the State Election Commission by noon on the tenth day following the deadline for filing statements by candidates. If the tenth day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the statements must be filed by noon the following day. No candidate's name may appear on a primary election ballot, convention slate of candidates, general election ballot, or special election ballot, except as otherwise provided by law, if the candidate's statement of intention of candidacy has not been filed with the county election commission or State Election Commission, as the case may be, by the deadline. The candidate's name must appear if the candidate produces the signed and dated copy of his timely filed statement of intention of candidacy.

The statement of intention of candidacy required in this section and in Section 7-13-190(B) must be on a form designed and provided by the State Election Commission. It must be filed in triplicate by the candidate, and the political party committee with whom it is filed must stamp it with the date and time received, sign it, keep one copy, return one copy to the candidate, and send one copy to either the county election commission or the State Election Commission, as the case may be.

If, after the closing of the time for filing statements of intention of candidacy, there are not more than two candidates for any one office and one or more of the candidates dies, or withdraws, the state or county committee, as the case may be, if the nomination is by political party primary or political party convention only may, in its discretion, afford opportunity for the entry of other candidates for the office involved; provided, that for the office of state Senator, the discretion must be exercised by the state committee.

The provisions of this section do not apply to nonpartisan school trustee elections in any school district where local law provisions provide for other dates and procedures for filing statements of candidacy or petitions, and to the extent the provisions of this section and the local law provisions conflict, the local law provisions control."

Filing dates changed

SECTION 2. Section 7-11-210 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 7-11-210. Every candidate for selection as a nominee of any political party for any state office, United States Senator, member of Congress or solicitor, to be voted for in any party primary election, shall file with and place in the possession of the treasurer of the state committee by twelve o'clock noon on March thirtieth a notice or pledge in the following form, the blanks being properly filled in and the notice or pledge signed by the candidate: `I hereby file my notice as a candidate for the nomination as in the primary election to be held on . I affiliate with the Party, and I hereby pledge myself to abide by the results of the primary and I authorize the issuance of an injunction upon ex parte application by the party chairman, as provided by law, should I violate this pledge by offering or campaigning in the ensuing general election for election to this office or any other office for which a nominee has been elected in the party primary election, unless the nominee for the office has become deceased or otherwise disqualified for election in the ensuing general election'.

Every candidate for selection in a primary election as the nominee of any political party for member of the Senate, member of the House of Representatives, and all county and township offices shall file with and place in the possession of the county chairman or other officer as may be named by the county committee of the county in which they reside by twelve o'clock noon on March thirtieth a like notice and pledge.

The notice of candidacy required by this section to be filed by a candidate in a primary must be signed personally by the candidate, and the signature of the candidate must be signed in the presence of the county chairman or other officer as may be named by the county committee with whom the candidate is filing, or a candidate must have his signature on the notice of the candidacy acknowledged and certified by any officer authorized to administer an oath. Any notice of candidacy of any candidate signed by an agent in behalf of a candidate shall not be valid.

In the event that a person who was defeated as a candidate for nomination to an office in a party's primary election shall thereafter offer or campaign as a candidate against any nominee for election to any office in the ensuing general election, the state chairman of the party which held the primary (if the office involved is one voted for in the general election by the electors of more than one county), or the county chairman of the party which held the primary (in the case of all other offices), shall forthwith institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for an order enjoining the person from so offering or campaigning in the general election, and the court is hereby empowered upon proof of these facts to issue an order."

Filing dates changed

SECTION 3. Section 7-13-40 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 497 of 1994, is further amended to read:

"Section 7-13-40. In the event that a party nominates candidates by party primary, a party primary must be held by the party and conducted by the State Election Commission and the respective county election commissions on the second Tuesday in June of each general election year and a second and third primary each two weeks successively thereafter, if necessary. Certification of the names of all candidates to be placed on primary ballots must be made by the political party chairman, vice chairman, or secretary to the State Election Commission or the county election commission, whichever is responsible under law for preparing the ballot, not later than twelve o'clock noon on April ninth, or if April ninth falls on a Sunday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday. The filing fees for all candidates filing to run in all primaries, except municipal primaries, must be transmitted by the respective political parties to the State Election Commission and placed by the executive director of the commission in a special account designated for use in conducting the primaries and must be used for that purpose. The filing fee for each office is one percent of the total salary for the term of that office or one hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater."

Special election, filing times

SECTION 4. Section 7-13-190(B) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 61 of 1991, is further amended to read:

"(B) In partisan elections, whether seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention, filing by these candidates shall open for the office at noon on the third Friday after the vacancy occurs for a period to close ten days later at noon. If seeking nomination by petition, filing by these candidates shall open for the office at noon on the eleventh Tuesday after the vacancy occurs for a period to close seven days later at noon. If seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention, filing with the appropriate official is the same as provided in Section 7-11-15 and if seeking nomination by petition, filing with the appropriate official is the same as provided in Section 7-11-70."

Time effective

SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Approved the 12th day of February, 1996.