South Carolina General Assembly
114th Session, 2001-2002

Scroll to History Page
Scroll to Previous Versions Links List
Scroll to Full Text
Download This Bill in Microsoft Word format

Bill 65


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                      65
Ratification Number:              421
Act Number:                       3 of 2003
Type of Legislation:              General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                 Senate
Introduced Date:                  20010110
Primary Sponsor:                  Mescher
All Sponsors:                     Mescher, Reese, Branton
Drafted Document Number:          l:\council\bills\skb\18032som01.doc
Date Bill Passed both Bodies:     20020529
Date of Last Amendment:           20020528
Governor's Action:                U  Became law without signature of 
                                  Governor
Date of Governor's Action:        20030116
Subject:                          Elections; when candidate's name may not 
                                  appear on ballot; special election not 
                                  required to fill vacancy; certification of 
                                  candidates for president and vice president


                        History

Body    Date      Action Description                     Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  ______________________________________ _______ ____________
------  20030206  Act No. A3 of 2003
------  20030116  Became Law without Governor's signature
------  20020604  Ratified R421
House   20020529  Concurred in Senate amendment, 
                  enrolled for ratification
Senate  20020528  House amendments amended,
                  returned to House with amendment
House   20020523  Read third time, returned to Senate
                  with amendment
House   20020522  Amended, read second time
House   20020521  Recalled from Committee                25 HJ
House   20020312  Introduced, read first time,           25 HJ
                  referred to Committee
------  20020308  Scrivener's error corrected
Senate  20020307  Amended, read third time, 
                  sent to House
------  20020304  Scrivener's error corrected
Senate  20020228  Amended, read second time
------  20010329  Scrivener's error corrected
Senate  20010328  Committee report: majority             11 SJ
                  favorable, with amendment,
                  minority unfavorable
Senate  20010110  Introduced, read first time,           11 SJ
                  referred to Committee


              Versions of This Bill
Revised on March 28, 2001 - Word format
Revised on March 29, 2001 - Word format
Revised on February 28, 2002 - Word format
Revised on March 4, 2002 - Word format
Revised on March 7, 2002 - Word format
Revised on March 8, 2002 - Word format
Revised on May 21, 2002 - Word format
Revised on May 22, 2002 - Word format
Revised on May 28, 2002 - Word format

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


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

(A3, R421, S65 of 2002)

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 FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH A CANDIDATE'S NAME MAY NOT APPEAR ON THE BALLOT; TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-190, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL VACANCIES IN OFFICE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL A VACANCY IN AN OFFICE ARE NOT REQUIRED; AND TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-350, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF CANDIDATES AND VERIFICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS, SO AS TO REVISE THE DATES BY WHICH CANDIDATES FOR PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT MUST BE CERTIFIED.

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

When candidate's name may not appear on ballot

SECTION 1. Section 7-11-15 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 236 of 2000, 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 that includes more than one county must 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 the statements along with the applicable filing fees to the respective state executive committees. 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 (1) 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 and (2) the candidate has not been certified by the appropriate political party as required by Sections 7-13-40 and 7-13-350, as applicable. 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. This form, in addition to all other information, must contain an affirmation that the candidate meets, or will meet by the time of the general election, or as otherwise required by law, the qualifications for the office sought. 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; however, for the office of State House of Representatives or 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."

Special election not required to fill vacancy

SECTION 2. Section 7-13-190 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 412 of 1998, is further amended by adding:

"(E)(1) A special election to fill a vacancy in an office is not required to be conducted if fourteen calendar days have elapsed since the filing period for that office has closed and:

(a) only one person has filed for the office; and

(b) no person has filed a declaration to be a write-in candidate with the authority charged by law with conducting the election.

(2) In such an event, the candidate who filed for the office is deemed elected and shall take office on the Monday following certification.

(3) The provisions of this subsection also apply to municipal general elections.

When no person has filed a declaration to be a write-in candidate pursuant to this section, the candidate who filed for the office must be declared the winner by the authority charged by law with conducting the election, and the votes for the election must not be counted or otherwise tabulated. Nothing in this section requires a ballot containing the name of a person who has been declared the winner pursuant to this section to be reprinted to delete the winning candidate's name or candidates' names from the ballot."

Certification of candidates for president and vice president

SECTION 3. Section 7-13-350(B) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 392 of 2000, is further amended to read:

"(B) Candidates for President and Vice President must be certified not later than twelve o'clock noon on September tenth to the State Election Commission, or if September tenth falls on Sunday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday."

Time effective

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

Ratified the 4th day of June, 2002.

Became law without the signature of the Governor -- 1/16/03.

__________


This web page was last updated on Tuesday, December 8, 2009 at 11:07 A.M.