Current StatusView additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.Bill Number: 210 Ratification Number: 283 Act Number 280 Introducing Body: Senate Subject: Relating to absentee registration and voting
(A280, R283, S210)
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 16 OF TITLE 7, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ABSENTEE REGISTRATION AND VOTING, SO AS TO FURTHER DEFINE PROCEDURES FOR SUCH REGISTRATION AND VOTING, CENTRALIZE SUCH PROCEDURES IN THE VARIOUS COUNTY OFFICES OF VOTER REGISTRATION, AND RESTRUCTURE THE CHAPTER TO MORE CLEARLY SEPARATE ABSENTEE VOTER REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE VOTING, GRANT AUTHORITY TO THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION TO PROMULGATE REGULATIONS; AND TO AMEND SECTION 7-6-140, RELATING TO ADDITIONAL DAYS THAT BOARDS OF REGISTRATION SHALL REMAIN OPEN, SO AS TO REQUIRE THE BOARDS TO REMAIN OPEN AND AVAILABLE FOR ABSENTEE REGISTRATION AND ABSENTEE VOTING RESPONSIBILITIES, AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Absentee registration and voting
Section 1. Chapter 15 of Title 7 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"CHAPTER 15
Absentee Registration and Voting
ARTICLE 1
General Provisions
Section 7-15-10. The State Election Commission shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of Article 3 and Article 5 of this chapter. It shall promulgate regulations, and shall have drafted, printed, and distributed all forms that are required to effectuate these purposes:
(1) To make it possible for persons mentioned in Section 7-15-110 to register; and
(2) To make it possible for persons mentioned in Section 7-15-320 to vote by absentee ballot in general and special elections only. Regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall be promulgated in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act.
Section 7-15-20. Article 3 and Article 5 of this chapter shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate their purposes.
ARTICLE 3
Absentee Registration
Section 7-15-110. The following persons shall be qualified to register to vote by the absentee method:
(1) Members of the Armed Forces of the United States.
(2) Members of the Merchant Marine of the United States.
(3) A person serving with the American Red Cross or the United States Service Organizations attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the United States outside of the county of his residence in South Carolina.
(4) Members or employees of any department of the United States Government serving overseas.
(5) Students.
(6) A spouse and dependents residing with any of the above categories (1) - (5).
(7) Physically disabled persons due to injury or illness.
(8) Persons whose employment is out of state, their spouses and dependents residing with them.
Section 7-15-120. The State Election Commission shall have printed and shall furnish the board of registration of each county an adequate number of registration forms in the following form, substituting in each case the appropriate calendar year for which the cards are printed:
ABSENTEE REGISTRATION FOR THE ELECTION
TO BE HELD
_____________________________________________________________, 19__
_____________________________County No.:____________________
READ CAREFULLY THE INSTRUCTIONS PRINTED ON THE REVERSE SIDE HEREOF BEFORE FILLING IN THIS FORM:
I hereby swear (or affirm) that:
(1) My full name is:_____________________________________________
(2) I am a citizen of the United States and of the State of South Carolina.
(3) The date of my birth was:____________________________________
(4) I am not disqualified from voting because of a felony conviction or offense against the election laws.
(5) I am (check appropriate blank)
(a) in the armed forces of the United States __
(b) in the Merchant Marine of the United States __
(c) serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organization __
(d) a member ( ), employee ( ) of the department of the United States Government serving overseas.
(e) a student ( ) residing outside of the county of my residence and enrolled in an institution of learning.
(f) a spouse ( ), dependent ( ) residing with any of the above.
(g) physically disabled due to illness or injury ( ).
(h) a person whose employment is out of state ( ).
(i) a spouse ( ), dependent ( ) residing with a person whose employment is out of state.
(6) My home address in South Carolina is:________________________
(7) My mailing address (address to which absentee ballot should be sent) is:_______________________________________________________
(8) My State House of Representative District Number (if known) is:__________________________________
(9) My Social Security Number is:________________________________
________________________________
Signature of Applicant
On the back of each card shall be printed the following:
INSTRUCTIONS. This registration form must be filled out and returned, in the envelope accompanying it, to your county board of registration. All entries except your signature should be printed or typewritten.
You are required to sign the form.
Conviction of a felony or offenses against the election laws disqualifies you from registering and voting, unless such disqualification shall have been removed by service of the sentence, including probation and parole time unless sooner pardoned.
Your registration by this form, if granted by your county board of registration, is valid only for the elections to be held during this calendar year. For elections which are held in subsequent calendar years, you must be registered again.
IN ORDER TO BE REGISTERED, THIS FORM MUST REACH YOUR COUNTY BOARD OF REGISTRATION NOT LATER THAN THIRTY DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION.
Section 7-15-130. Any person specified in Section 7-15-110 or any relative or friend of such person, may at any time request from the board of registration of the county of the residence of such person a registration form, and, in making such request, shall furnish the name and home address and absentee mailing address of such person. Application for an election ballot on any form provided members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine by the federal government shall be considered as a request for a registration form, and the State Election Commission shall forward all such applications received by it to the board of registration of the proper county. Upon receipt of a request, the board of registration shall immediately mail a registration form, together with a return-address envelope, to such person specified in Section 7-15-110 at the absentee mailing address given. The board of registration shall number each registration form and keep a record book in which shall be recorded the number of the form, the name, home address and absentee mailing address of the person for whom the registration form is requested, the name, address, and relation, if any, of the person requesting the form, the date upon which the form is requested, and the date upon which the form is mailed. For good cause, the board may furnish a duplicate registration form, noting the fact in the record book.
Section 7-15-140. The person to whom the registration form is mailed shall complete the form. The form shall then be mailed to the proper board of registration in the return-addressed envelope accompanying the registration form. Upon the return of the registration form to the board, the board shall stamp or write thereon the date of its receipt.
Section 7-15-150. Upon the return of the registration form, the board shall consider the information upon the form and any other information that it may have or obtain concerning the applicant and judge his legal qualifications for registration. If he is found to be entitled to registration, the board shall enter his name in the registration book for his voting precinct, noting after his name the words 'Absentee Registration', the number of the registration form and the year for which the registration is valid. Such entry shall constitute the registration of the applicant. The board shall then promptly send applications for absentee ballots for the calendar year to persons registered under this article.
Section 7-15-160. Each registration under the provisions of this article shall be valid only for the calendar year in which it is granted and shall allow the registrant to vote during that year only in any general, special or primary election.
Section 7-15-170. Each county board of registration shall preserve the record book required to be kept by Section 7-15-130 and the registration forms of all applicants for registration until the end of the calendar year and until the time for contesting the elections shall have expired, at which time they shall be destroyed, but if any contest concerning the elections is then pending the record book and the form shall not be destroyed until the final determination of the contest.
Section 7-15-175. Nothing in this article shall be construed as allowing registration under the provisions of this article after the registration books have been closed as required by Sections 7-5-150 and 7-5-220.
ARTICLE 5
Absentee Voting
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 residencies, 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 the 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) 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 because of illness or disability resulting in his confinement in a hospital, sanatorium, nursing home, or place of residence, or a voter unable because of a physical handicap to go to his polling place or because of such handicap 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 reimbursed for the time they expend on campaign activity be considered an `authorized representative' of an elector desiring to vote by absentee ballot. (8) The term `immediate family' means a person's spouse, parents, children, brothers, or sisters.
Section 7-15-320. Any qualified elector in the following categories shall be permitted to vote by absentee ballot in all elections when he will be absent from his county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open, to such extent that it would prevent him from voting in person except that physically disabled persons, poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, and county election commission members and staff working on election day 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 the Merchant Marine 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 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 prior to the election.
(8) Persons on vacation (who by virtue of vacation plans will be absent from their county of residence on election day).
(9) Poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, and county election commission members and staff working on election day.
Section 7-15-330. To vote by absentee ballot, any qualified elector or a member of his immediate family, must request an application to vote by absentee ballot in person, by telephone, or by mail from the county registration board for the county of the voter's residence. A person requesting an application for a qualified elector as such qualified elector's authorized representative must request an application to vote by absentee ballot in person or by mail only and must himself be a registered voter and must sign an oath to the effect that he fits the statutory definition of such a representative. This signed oath shall 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 shall not be allowed to request applications for absentee voting for any person designated in this section unless such person is a member of the immediate family. A request for an application to vote by absentee ballot must be made not earlier than forty-five days prior to the election in which the qualified elector desires to be permitted to vote by absentee ballot. Completed applications must be returned to the county registration board in person or by mail before 5:00 p.m. on the fourth day preceding the day of the election; provided, however, that applications shall 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 to vote absentee pursuant to Section 7-15-320 (4) and (7). The board of registration shall serially number each absentee ballot application form and keep a record book in which shall 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 shall become a public record at 9:00 a.m. on the day immediately preceding the election. Any person who violates the provisions of this section is subject to the penalties provided in Section 7-25-170.
Section 7-15-340. The application required in Section 7-15-330 to be submitted to such election officials shall be in the following form:
APPLICATION FOR ABSENTEE BALLOT
TO THE COMMISSIONERS OF ELECTION:__________________________________
COUNTY
I hereby apply for an absentee ballot and request that I be permitted to vote in the election to be held on the ______ day of __________________________, 19__
(If a ballot is requested for a primary election, print your political party preference in this space _____________________.)
I am a qualified elector and am registered to vote in the precinct and _____ State House of Representatives District. (If known.) My registration certificate number is _____________________
My full name is ___________________________________________________
Please Print
I hereby swear or affirm, UNDER PENALTY OF LAW, that I will be absent from my county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open or unable to appear at the polling place because of physical disability or responsibilities as poll manager, and that I am eligible to vote by absentee ballot under one of the following categories:
(CHECK APPROPRIATE BOX)
__ 1. Students, their spouses and dependents residing with them. (The term `students' shall mean all persons residing outside of the counties of their respective residences, enrolled in an institution of learning).
__ 2. Armed Forces, Merchant Marine, their spouses and dependents residing with them.
__ 3. Persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, their spouses and dependents residing with them.
__ 4. Employment. (The term `employment' means those persons who by virtue of their employment obligations will be absent from their county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open and who will be unable to vote in person).
__ 5. Physically disabled persons. (The term `physically disabled persons' shall mean a person who because of injury or illness, cannot be present in person at his voting place on election day whether physically present inside or outside his county of residence).
__ 6. Governmental employees, their spouses and dependents residing with them, who are out of their county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open.
__ 7. Death in family, or attending funeral within a three-day period of election.
__ 8. Persons on vacation (who by virtue of vacation plans will be absent from their county of residence and unable to vote in person).
__ 9. Poll managers and county voter registration board staff working on election day.
(Persons in this category are entitled to vote by absentee ballot whether physically present inside or outside of their county of residence on election day during the hours the polls are open.)
My home address in South Carolina as shown on my registration certificate is:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
My absentee mailing address (address to which absentee ballot should be mailed) is:
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________
Signature
___________________________________________
Social Security or Identification Number
Section 7-15-350. Upon the receipt of a completed application form from any person, qualified to receive an absentee ballot under the provisions of Section 7-15-320, the registration board shall verify if such applicant is registered in the precinct of his residence. If no record of such applicant's registration is found, the board shall immediately forward to such applicant a registration form as provided in Section 7-15-120. When any such person is subsequently found to be registered, the board of registration shall insure his receipt of a ballot as provided in this article.
Section 7-15-360. The board of registration of each county shall be furnished by the commissioners of election of the county or the county committee for each political party holding a primary a sufficient number of ballots and envelopes not to exceed fifteen percent of the number of registered voters in that county to enable the board of registration to deliver such materials to qualified electors desiring to vote by absentee ballot.
Section 7-15-370. Upon receipt of the ballots and envelopes, the county registration board shall as soon as possible furnish the following items to each person qualified to receive an absentee ballot and who has validly completed a written application for an absentee ballot:
(1) One of each ballot to be used in the election;
(2) Printed instructions as to the marking, folding and return of each ballot and as to the signing (and return) of the oath;
(3) An unmarked envelope in which all completed ballots are to be placed;
(4) A return-addressed envelope imprinted on the back with the oath set forth in Section 7-15-385 to be used for the return of the unmarked envelope (and enclosed ballots) to the board of registration;
(5) Any additional oath, instructions or information necessary to enable such absentee ballot applicant to execute and return a ballot legally acceptable by the officials charged with conducting such election.
The board of registration shall record in the record book required by Section 7-15-330 to be kept by the board the date such materials are requested by written application and the date they are issued to the qualified elector. Election materials which are mailed shall be sent to the voter's absentee mailing address.
Section 7-15-375. The return-addressed envelope required by item (4) of Section 7-15-370 to be sent to each absentee ballot applicant shall have printed on its face in the upper left hand corner the words `Absentee ballots for __________________ County, __________________________ (county seat), South Carolina.' All blanks on the face of the envelope shall be filled in by the county board of registration prior to the issuance of the ballot to the absentee ballot applicant. On the back shall appear blanks which the voter shall fill in with his name and address.
Section 7-15-380. The oath, which is required by Section 7-15-370 to be imprinted on the return-addressed envelope, furnished each absentee ballot applicant, shall be signed by the absentee ballot applicant and witnessed. The address of the witness shall appear on the oath. The oath shall be in the following form:
I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified to vote at this election according to the Constitution of the State of South Carolina, that I have not voted during this election, that the ballot or ballots contained in this envelope is my ballot and that I have received no assistance in voting my ballot that I would not have been entitled to receive had I voted in person at my voting precinct.
__________________________________________
Signature of Voter
Dated on this _______ day of __________________, 19__
__________________________________________
Signature of Witness
__________________________________________
Address of Witness
Section 7-15-385. Upon receipt of the ballot or ballots the absentee ballot applicant shall mark each ballot on which he wishes to vote and place each ballot in the single unmarked envelope which in turn shall be placed in the return-addressed envelope. The applicant shall then return such return-addressed envelope in compliance with the instructions received by him with the ballot. Signed and witnessed on each return envelope shall be the oath set forth in Section 7-15-380. The board of registration shall record in the record book required by Section 7-15-330 to be kept by the board the date the return-addressed envelope with witnessed oath and enclosed ballot or ballots is received by the board. The board shall then securely store such envelopes in a locked box or boxes within the office of the registration board.
Section 7-15-390. Absentee balloting in the primary and special elections shall be in accordance with the provisions of Title 7; provided, however, that absentee voting in municipal elections shall be conducted by the municipal election commission pursuant to Chapter 15 of Title 5. Boards of registration and all other election officials of this State shall cooperate with such authorities to the end that the right to vote may be preserved for all persons as defined in Sections 7-15-310 and 7-15-320.
Section 7-15-395. Any 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 in primary elections. All expenses incurred by any political party in conducting elections subject to the provisions of this article shall be borne by such political party.
Article 7
Absentee Voting Precincts
Section 7-15-410. In each county there shall be established an absentee voting precinct located in the office of the county board of registration. The county election commission or the county committee for each political party in the case of primary elections shall be responsible for the tabulation and reporting of ballots at the absentee voting precinct, provided, however, that the absentee ballots shall remain in the custody of the county board of registration until transferred to the county election commission or county committee for each political party for the purpose of tabulation and reporting as provided in Section 7-15-420.
Section 7-15-420. The county election commission or the county committee for each political party in the case of primary elections shall be responsible for the tabulation and reporting of absentee ballots. At the time of the closing of the polls, the managers appointed pursuant to Section 7-13-70 shall begin the process of tabulating the absentee ballots by making certain that each oath has been properly signed and witnessed and includes the address of the witness. No ballot shall be counted unless the oath is properly signed and witnessed nor shall any ballot be counted which is received by the county registration board after time for closing of the polls. The printed instructions required by item (2) of Section 7-15-370 to be sent each absentee ballot applicant shall notify him that his vote will not be counted in either of these events. If a ballot is not challenged, the sealed return-addressed envelope shall be opened by the managers, and the enclosed unmarked envelope removed and placed in a locked box or boxes until the polls close. After all return-addressed envelopes have been emptied in this manner, the managers shall remove the ballot or ballots contained in the unmarked envelopes, placing each one in the ballot box provided for the applicable contest or contests. When all absentee ballots have been placed in the ballot boxes, they shall be tabulated and reported as a separate precinct in the same manner as other ballots of the county are counted on election day. The absentee voter precinct shall be deemed a countywide precinct and a part of each election district in the county. If any ballot is challenged, the return-addressed envelope shall not be opened, but shall be put aside and the procedure set forth in Section 7-13-830 shall be utilized; provided, however, that the absentee voter shall be given reasonable notice of any such challenged ballot.
Section 7-15-430. Prior to the distribution of voter registration lists to the various precincts, the county board of registration shall note opposite the name of each registered voter who has voted by absentee ballot the fact of such voting or that an absentee ballot has been issued to a voter, as the case may be.
No voter whose name is so marked on the registration list as having voted shall be permitted to vote in person in his resident precinct and no voter who has been issued an absentee ballot may vote whether such ballot has been cast or not, unless he shall furnish to the officials of his resident precinct a certificate from the county board of registration that his absentee ballot has been returned to the board unmarked. Should any voter be issued an absentee ballot after the registration board has released the registration books to be used in the election to the county election commission, county committee or poll managers, the board of registration shall immediately notify in writing the county election commission, county committee or poll manager, as the case may be, of the name, address and certificate number of each voter who has since been issued an absentee ballot and the registration books shall so be appropriately marked that the voter has been issued an absentee ballot.
Section 7-15-450. This article shall apply to political parties conducting a primary and any other authorities conducting an election."
Managers to count ballots
Section 2. The first paragraph of Section 7-13-1110 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"At the close of the election the managers and clerk shall immediately proceed publicly to open the ballot boxes and count the ballots therein and shall continue such count, without adjournment or interruption, until it is completed. They shall then make and sign such statement of the result thereof as the nature of the election shall require."
Board of registration to remain open
Section 3. Section 7-5-140 of the 1976 Code is amended to read: "Section 7-5-140. Boards of registration shall remain open as provided by law and, in addition thereto, shall remain open and available for registration on any additional days, during such hours and at such various places throughout the county as the boards may determine. Such boards also shall remain open and available for absentee registration and absentee voting responsibilities during such additional hours as the boards may deem necessary. Notice of the time and place shall be given by prior publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county."
Time effective
Section 4. This act shall take effect upon the approval by the Governor.