South Carolina General Assembly
110th Session, 1993-1994

Bill 582


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Introducing Body:               Senate
Bill Number:                    582
Primary Sponsor:                Rose
Committee Number:               11
Type of Legislation:            GB
Subject:                        Elections, voter registration
Residing Body:                  Senate
Current Committee:              Judiciary
Computer Document Number:       582
Introduced Date:                19930323
Last History Body:              Senate
Last History Date:              19930323
Last History Type:              Introduced, read first time,
                                referred to Committee
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   Rose
Type of Legislation:            General Bill



History


Bill  Body    Date          Action Description              CMN  Leg Involved
____  ______  ____________  ______________________________  ___  ____________

582   Senate  19930323      Introduced, read first time,    11
                            referred to Committee

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

A BILL

TO AMEND ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE 7, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 7-5-157, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR VOLUNTARY VOTER REGISTRATION WHEN A PERSON APPLIES FOR OR RENEWS HIS DRIVER'S LICENSE OR IDENTIFICATION CARD, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE RETURN OF THE FORMS TO THE COUNTY BOARD OF REGISTRATION.

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

SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 5, Title 7 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 7-5-157. (A) Commencing January 1, 1994, the Department of Highways and Public Transportation, through its local driver's license examination facilities, must provide each qualified elector who applies for the issuance, renewal, or correction of any type of driver's license or for an identification card pursuant to Section 57-3-910, an opportunity to complete an application to register to vote by use of a form to be supplied by the South Carolina Election Commission. This form must contain a place to provide the information required by Section 7-5-170.

(B) If the applicant wishes to complete an application for registration, he must answer the questions required on the form required by subsection (A) and must complete and sign an oath attesting as follows: `I, ______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States and that on the date of the next ensuing election, I will have attained the age of eighteen years and am a resident of the State of South Carolina, this county, and my precinct. I further swear (or affirm) that the present address I listed herein is my sole legal place of residence and that I claim no other place as my legal residence.' If requested to do so, an employee of the department must witness the signing by an applicant of the form required by subsection (A), and sign the form indicating witnessing of the applicant's signature. No registration form is valid unless it is witnessed. Completed application forms must be forwarded by the department on a weekly basis to the county registration board of the county in which the driver's license examination facility is located, except that during the last week allowed for registration prior to any election, such applications must be forwarded daily to the county registration board of the county in which the driver's license examination facility is located. Upon receipt of these forms from the department, a county registration board must promptly forward the application form of any applicant not residing in the county serviced by that board to the county registration board of the county in which the applicant resides.

(C) In the alternative to the procedure described in subsection (B), the applicant may complete the application for registration and complete and sign the oath described in subsection (B), obtain the signature of any registered elector showing that he witnessed the applicant's signature, and mail the completed application to the county registration board of the county in which the applicant resides. All completed applications must comply with the requirements of Section 7-5-155(1).

(D) Upon receipt of an application, the county registration board in the county in which the applicant resides must determine if the application is complete. If the county registration board determines that the application is complete, the applicant is deemed registered as of the date of the application. If the county registration board determines that the application is not complete, the board must notify the applicant of the additional information required. The applicant must be deemed registered as of the date of the application when the additional information is provided at least four days prior to the election.

(E) Any registered elector who continues to reside in the county of his voter registration and who informs a driver's license examination facility of a change of name or address must have notice of his change of name or address forwarded by the driver's license examination facility to the registration board of the county in which the driver's license facility is located. If the elector lives in a different county from such facility, the registration board must forward the change to the registration board of the county in which the elector resides. The registration board of the county in which the elector resides must change the voter's registration to reflect the change of name and address.

(F) The Department of Highways and Public Transportation and the State Election Commission are authorized to promulgate regulations necessary to implement the requirements of this section."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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