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COMMITTEE REPORT
March 15, 2006
S. 301
S. Printed 3/15/06--S.
Read the first time January 19, 2005.
To whom was referred a Bill (S. 301) to amend Section 7-11-20, as amended, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to conduct of party conventions or party primary elections, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking the bill in its entirety and inserting therein the following:
TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-320, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PERSONS QUALIFIED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A QUALIFIED ELECTOR MEETING CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS MUST BE PERMITTED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT BY MAIL, AND THAT ANY QUALIFIED ELECTOR MUST BE PERMITTED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT IN ANY ELECTION IN WHICH HE IS ENTITLED TO VOTE FOR ANY REASON IF THE QUALIFIED ELECTOR APPEARS IN PERSON TO CAST AN ABSENTEE BALLOT AS PROVIDED BY LAW.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 7-15-320 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 25 of 1997, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-15-320. (A) A qualified elector in any of the following categories must be permitted to vote by absentee ballot by mail in all elections when he is absent from his county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open, to an extent that it prevents him from voting in person, except that physically disabled persons, certified poll watchers, poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, and county election commission members and staff working on election day, a person admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of an election or within a four-day period before an election, and persons whose employment obligations required that they be at their place of employment during the hours that the polls are open and present written certification of that obligation to the county registration board, and persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial may vote by absentee ballot whether or not absent from their county of residence:
(1) students, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(2) members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(3) persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(4) persons in employment;
(5) physically disabled persons;
(6) governmental employees, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(7) electors with a death or funeral in the family within a three-day period before the election;
(8) persons on vacation (who by virtue of vacation plans will be absent from their county of residence on election day);
(9) certified poll watchers, poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, and county election commission members and staff working on election day;
(10) overseas citizens;
(11) persons attending sick or physically disabled persons;
(12) persons admitted to hospitals as emergency patients on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election;
(13) persons who will be serving as jurors in a state or federal court on election day;
(14) persons sixty-five years of age or older;
(15) persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial.
(B) Any qualified elector must be permitted to vote by absentee ballot in any election in which he is entitled to vote for any reason if the qualified elector appears in person to cast an absentee ballot as provided by law."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 1, 2007. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
LARRY A. MARTIN for Committee.
EXPLANATION OF IMPACT:
A review of this bill by the State Election Commission indicates there will be a recurring cost for a temporary employee of $750 for each county election office, totaling $34,500, to assist voters who will vote at the voter registration office prior to elections. Further, there is a potential cost of an additional $10,000 for printing new application forms.
Approved By:
Don Addy
Office of State Budget
TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-20, AS AMENDED, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO CONDUCT OF PARTY CONVENTIONS OR PARTY PRIMARY ELECTIONS, SO AS TO DELETE A PROVISION REQUIRING THAT AN ABSENTEE BALLOT BE AVAILABLE FOR RELIGIOUS REASONS; TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-10, RELATING TO THE DUTIES OF THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION, SO AS TO DELETE THE REFERENCE TO A LIST OF PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT; TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-260, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO RESPONSIBILITIES OF POLITICAL PARTIES CONDUCTING MUNICIPAL PRIMARIES, SO AS TO DELETE THE REFERENCE TO A LIST OF PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT; TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-310, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS CONCERNING ABSENTEE VOTING, SO AS TO DELETE CERTAIN DEFINITIONS WHICH ARE NO LONGER NECESSARY WITH THE CHANGES MADE TO THE ARTICLE BY THIS ACT; TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-320, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PERSONS QUALIFIED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ANY QUALIFIED ELECTOR MUST BE PERMITTED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT; TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-330, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE TIME OF APPLICATION FOR ABSENTEE BALLOT, SO AS TO DELETE THE REFERENCE TO A LIST OF PERSONS QUALIFIED TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT; TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-340, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE FORM OF AN APPLICATION FOR ABSENTEE BALLOT, SO AS TO SPECIFY CERTAIN CATEGORIES OF VOTERS WHICH MAY USE A DIFFERENT FORM AND TO PROVIDE THAT A QUALIFIED ELECTOR DOES NOT HAVE TO STATE THE REASON FOR REQUESTING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT ON THE APPLICATION FORM; AND TO AMEND SECTION 7-15-395, RELATING TO RESPONSIBILITIES OF POLITICAL PARTIES CONCERNING PRIMARIES, SO AS TO DELETE THE REFERENCE TO A LIST OF PERSONS ELIGIBLE TO VOTE BY ABSENTEE BALLOT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 7-11-20 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 489 of 1992, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-11-20. (A) Party conventions or party primary elections held by political parties certified as such by the State Election Commission under pursuant to the provisions of this title to nominate candidates for any of the offices to be filled in a general or special election shall must be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this title and in accordance with party rules not in conflict with the provisions of this title or of the Constitution and laws of this State or of the United States.
(B) A certified political party wishing to hold a presidential primary election may do so in accordance with the provisions of this title and party rules. However, notwithstanding any other provision of this title, the state committee of the party shall set the date and the hours that the polls will be open for the presidential primary election and the filing requirements. If a party holds a presidential primary election on a Saturday, an absentee ballot must be provided to a person who signs an affirmation stating that for religious reasons he does not wish to take part in the electoral process on a Saturday."
SECTION 2. Section 7-15-10 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-15-10. The State Election Commission is responsible for carrying out the provisions of Article 3 and Article 5 of this chapter. The commission may promulgate regulations, and must shall have drafted, printed, and distributed all forms that are required to make it possible for persons listed in Section 7-15-320 to vote by absentee ballot in primary, general, and special elections. Regulations promulgated pursuant to this section must be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act."
SECTION 3. Section 7-15-260 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 434 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-15-260. Any A political party conducting a municipal primary in this State is responsible for carrying out the provisions of this article by making ballots and election material available so that the persons named in Section 7-15-320 may be enabled to vote by absentee ballot in these primary elections subject to the rules and regulations of the political party. All expenses incurred by any a political party in conducting elections subject to the provisions of this article must be borne by the political party."
SECTION 4. Section 7-15-310 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 392 of 2000, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-15-310. As used in this article:
(1) The term 'Members of the Armed Forces of the United States' means members of the United States Army, the United States Navy, the United States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, the United States Coast Guard, or any of their respective components;.
(2) The term 'Members of the Merchant Marine of the United States' means all officers and men engaged in maritime service on board ships;.
(3) The term 'students' means all persons residing outside of the counties of their respective residences, enrolled in an institution of learning;
(4) The term 'physically disabled person' means a person who, because of injury or illness, cannot be present in person at his voting place on Election Day;
(5) The term 'registration form' means Standard Form 76, or any subsequent form replacing it, authorized by the federal government or the state form described in Section 7-15-120;
(6) The term 'persons in employment' means those persons who by virtue of their employment obligations are unable to vote in person;
(7)(3) The term 'Authorized representative' means a registered elector who, with the voter's permission, acts on behalf of a voter unable to go to the polls polling place because of illness or disability resulting in his confinement in a hospital, sanatorium, nursing home, or place of residence, or a voter unable to go to the polling place because of a physical handicap to go to his polling place or because of such handicap the voter is unable to vote at his polling place due to existing architectural barriers which deny him physical access to the polling place, voting booth, or voting apparatus or machinery. Under no circumstance shall A candidate or a member of a candidate's paid campaign staff or volunteers a volunteer reimbursed for the time they expend he expends on campaign activity may not be considered an 'authorized representative' of an elector desiring to vote by absentee ballot.
(8)(4) The term 'Immediate family' means a person's spouse, parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, and mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law.
(9)(5) The term 'Overseas citizen' means a citizen of the United States residing outside of the United States as specified by Section 7-15-110."
SECTION 5. Section 7-15-320 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 25 of 1997, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-15-320. A qualified elector in any of the following categories must be permitted to vote by absentee ballot in all elections in which he is entitled to vote when he is absent from his county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open, to an extent that it prevents him from voting in person except that physically disabled persons, certified poll watchers, poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, and county election commission members and staff working on election day, a person admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of an election or within a four-day period before an election, and persons whose employment obligations required that they be at their place of employment during the hours that the polls are open and present written certification of that obligation to the county registration board, and persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial may vote by absentee ballot whether or not absent from their county of residence:
(1) students, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(2) members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(3) persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(4) persons in employment;
(5) physically disabled persons;
(6) governmental employees, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(7) electors with a death or funeral in the family within a three-day period before the election;
(8) persons on vacation (who by virtue of vacation plans will be absent from their county of residence on election day);
(9) certified poll watchers, poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, county election commission members and staff working on election day;
(10) overseas citizens;
(11) persons attending sick or physically disabled persons;
(12) persons admitted to hospitals as emergency patients on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election;
(13) persons who will be serving as jurors in a state or federal court on election day;
(14) persons sixty-five years of age or older;
(15) persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial."
SECTION 6. Section 7-15-330 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 193 of 1989, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-15-330. To vote by absentee ballot, a qualified elector or a member of his immediate family must shall request an application to vote by absentee ballot in person, by telephone, or by mail from the county registration board, or at an extension office of the board of registration as established by the county governing body, for the county of the voter's residence. A person requesting an application for a qualified elector as the qualified elector's authorized representative must shall request an application to vote by absentee ballot in person or by mail only and he must himself be a registered voter and must sign an oath to the effect that he fits the statutory definition of a representative. This signed oath must be kept on file with the board of registration until the end of the calendar year or until all contests concerning a particular election have been finally determined, whichever is later. A candidate or a member of a candidate's paid campaign staff, including volunteers reimbursed for time expended on campaign activity, is not allowed to request applications for absentee voting for any a person designated in this section unless the person is a member of the immediate family. A request for an application to vote by absentee ballot may be made anytime during the calendar year in which the election in which the qualified elector desires to be permitted to vote by absentee ballot is being held. However, completed applications must be returned to the county registration board in person or by mail before 5:00 p.m. on the fourth day before the day of the election. Applications must be accepted by the county board of registration until 5:00 p.m. on the day immediately preceding the election for those who appear in person and are qualified electors to vote absentee pursuant to Section 7-15-320. A member of the immediate family of a person who is admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election may obtain an application from the registration board on the day of an election, complete it, receive the ballot, deliver it personally to the patient who shall vote, and personally carry the ballot back to the board of registration. The board of registration shall serially number each absentee ballot application form and keep a record book in which must be recorded the number of the form, the name, home address, and absentee mailing address of the person for whom the absentee ballot application form is requested; the name, address, voter registration number, and relationship of the person requesting the form, if other than the applicant; the date upon which the form is requested; and the date upon which the form is issued. This information becomes a public record at 9:00 a.m. on the day immediately preceding the election, except that forms issued for emergency hospital patients must be made public by 9:00 a.m. on the day following an election. A person who violates the provisions of this section is subject to the penalties provided in Section 7-25-170."
SECTION 7. Section 7-15-340 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 236 of 2004, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-15-340. (A) The application required in Section 7-15-330 to be submitted to these election officials must be in a form prescribed and distributed by the State Election Commission; except that persons listed in Section 7-15-320(2), (3), (6), and (10) may use Standard Form 76, or any subsequent form replacing it, provided by the federal government as a simultaneous request for registration and an absentee ballot or a request for an absentee ballot if already registered may be used by:
(1) members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(2) persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;
(3) governmental employees, their spouses, and dependents residing with them; and
(4) overseas citizens.
(B) The application must contain the following information: name, registration certificate number, address, absentee address, election of ballot request, election date, runoff preference, party preference, reason for request, oath of voter, and voter's signature.
(C) The oath must be as follows: 'I do swear or affirm that I am a qualified elector, that I am entitled to vote in this election, and that I will not vote again during this election. The information above is true in all respects, and I hereby apply for an absentee ballot for the reason indicated above'.
(D) Any A person who fraudulently applies for an absentee ballot in violation of this section, upon conviction, must be punished in accordance with Section 7-25-20."
SECTION 8. Section 7-15-395 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-15-395. Any A political party conducting a primary in this State is responsible for carrying out the provisions of this article by making ballots and election material available so that the persons named in Section 7-15-320 may be enabled to vote by absentee ballot in primary elections. All expenses incurred by any a political party in conducting elections subject to the provisions of this article shall must be borne by such the political party."
SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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