South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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S. 563

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senators Martin and Ford
Document Path: l:\s-jud\bills\martin\jud0076.lam.doc

Introduced in the Senate on April 8, 2003
Currently residing in the Senate

Summary: State Election Commission, to establish pilot program allowing Armed Services personnel and overseas citizens to vote electronically

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS 

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    4/8/2003  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-26
    4/8/2003  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-26
   4/16/2003  Senate  Committee report: Favorable Judiciary SJ-31

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

4/8/2003
4/16/2003

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

COMMITTEE REPORT

April 16, 2003

S. 563

Introduced by Senators Martin and Ford

S. Printed 4/16/03--S.

Read the first time April 8, 2003.

            

THE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

To whom was referred a Bill (S. 563) to amend Article 7, Chapter 15 of Title 7, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to elections and absentee voting precincts, by adding Section 7-15-456, etc., respectfully

REPORT:

That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass:

LARRY A. MARTIN for Committee.

            

STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT

ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT ON GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES:

$0 (No additional expenditures or savings are expected)

ESTIMATED FISCAL IMPACT ON FEDERAL & OTHER FUND EXPENDITURES:

$0 (No additional expenditures or savings are expected)

EXPLANATION OF IMPACT:

The State Election Commission indicates there will be no impact on the General Fund of the State or on federal and/or other funds.

Approved By:

Don Addy

Office of State Budget

A BILL

TO AMEND ARTICLE 7, CHAPTER 15 OF TITLE 7, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ELECTIONS AND ABSENTEE VOTING PRECINCTS, BY ADDING SECTION 7-15-456, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION TO ESTABLISH, IN COOPERATION WITH THE FEDERAL VOTING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, A PILOT PROJECT FOR THE PURPOSES OF PERMITTING ARMED FORCES PERSONNEL AND OVERSEAS CITIZENS TO TRANSMIT THEIR VOTES TO THE APPLICABLE ELECTION AUTHORITY OVER AN ELECTRONIC MEDIUM USING THE INTERNET, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS; TO REQUIRE THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION TO REPORT THE RESULTS OF THE PILOT PROJECT AUTHORIZED IN SECTION 7-15-456 AND RECOMMEND TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY POSSIBLE FUTURE APPLICATIONS WHICH MAY BE UTILIZED FOR VOTING BY ELECTRONIC MEANS USING THE INTERNET; AND TO REPEAL SECTION 7-15-456, AS ADDED BY THIS ACT, EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 31, 2006.

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

SECTION    1.    The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 7-15-456.    (A)    For purposes of this section:

(1)    'Armed forces personnel' means South Carolina residents located outside of this State serving on active duty in the armed services of the United States, in the Reserve or Guard components of the United States armed services having been called to active military duty, or as civilian personnel with the armed services of the United States.

(2)    'Overseas citizen' is as defined in Section 7-15-310(9).

(B)    The State Election Commission may establish, in cooperation with the Federal Voting Assistance Program, a pilot project for the purposes of permitting armed forces personnel and overseas citizens to transmit their votes to the election authority over an electronic medium using the Internet. For purposes of this project, armed forces personnel and overseas citizens are entitled to cast and have counted votes for only those candidates and questions for which they would be eligible to cast an absentee ballot. As is practicable, votes must be cast and counted in conformity with the provisions of Title 7. The State Election Commission shall rely upon procedures established by the United States Department of Defense for security, secrecy, and validation of votes, and is not subject to civil liability or criminal penalty for following these procedures. Votes transmitted to the election authority over an electronic medium using the Internet are subject to a recount or election contest, but not on the ground that the vote is invalid or suspect because it was cast using the Internet."

SECTION    2.    The State Election Commission shall report the results of the Pilot Project authorized in Section 7-15-456 as added by Section 1 of this act and recommend to the General Assembly possible future applications which may be utilized for voting by electronic means using the Internet.

SECTION    3.    Section 7-15-456 is repealed December 31, 2006.

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

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