Current Status Bill Number:357 Type of Legislation:General Bill GB Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:19970212 Primary Sponsor:Saleeby All Sponsors:Saleeby and Wilson Drafted Document Number:jud9002.ees Residing Body:House Current Committee:Judiciary Committee 25 HJ Date of Last Amendment:19970415 Subject:Elections, candidates statements, filing dates when weekend or holiday, notice, certification, nomination by petition
Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved
______ ________ _______________________________________ _______ ____________
House 19970416 Introduced, read first time, 25 HJ
referred to Committee
Senate 19970415 Amended, read third time,
sent to House
Senate 19970410 Reconsidered vote whereby
read third time and sent to House
Senate 19970410 Amended, read third time,
sent to House
Senate 19970408 Amended, read second time,
ordered to third reading
with notice of general amendments
Senate 19970408 Committee amendment adopted
Senate 19970319 Committee report: Favorable with 11 SJ
amendment
Senate 19970212 Introduced, read first time, 11 SJ
referred to Committee
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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AS PASSED BY THE SENATE
April 15, 1997
S. 357
S. Printed 4/15/97--S.
Read the first time February 12, 1997.
TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-15, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO STATEMENTS OF INTENTION OF CANDIDACY, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF A FILING DATE FALLS ON A SATURDAY, SUNDAY, OR LEGAL HOLIDAY, THESE DATES SHALL BEGIN OR END, AS APPROPRIATE, ON THE NEXT DAY WHICH IS NOT A SATURDAY, SUNDAY, OR LEGAL HOLIDAY, AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THE FILING REPOSITORY FOR THESE STATEMENTS; TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-210, RELATING TO NOTICE OF CANDIDACY AND PLEDGE, SO AS TO CHANGE THE FILING REPOSITORIES FOR THESE ITEMS; TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-40, RELATING TO CERTIFICATION OF CANDIDATES, SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT PARTIES NOMINATING CANDIDATES BY PARTY PRIMARY MUST VERIFY QUALIFICATIONS OF THOSE CANDIDATES PRIOR TO CERTIFICATION; TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-45, RELATING TO FILING AS A CANDIDATE, SO AS TO PROVIDE WHERE PERSONS MAY FILE AS CANDIDATES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 7-13-350, RELATING TO CERTIFIED CANDIDATES NOMINATED BY PETITION, PRIMARY, OR CONVENTION, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT POLITICAL PARTIES NOMINATING CANDIDATES BY PRIMARY OR CONVENTION MUST VERIFY THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THOSE CANDIDATES PRIOR TO CERTIFICATION TO THE AUTHORITY CHARGED BY LAW WITH PREPARING THE BALLOT.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 7-11-15 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act No. 226 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-11-15. (A) 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. If either of these dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, these dates shall begin or end, as appropriate, on the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
(1) Candidates seeking nomination for a statewide, congressional, or district office which includes more than one county shall 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 election commission in the county of their residence. The county committees election commissions must, within five days of the receipt of the statements, transmit them along with the applicable filing fees to the respective state executive committees. Provided, however, the county committees election commissions must report all filings to the respective state committees no later than five p.m. ten a.m. on March thirtieth thirty-first. 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 must file their statements of intention of candidacy with the county executive committee of their respective party election commission in the county of their residence.
(B) Except as provided herein in this section, the county executive committee of any political party election commission with whom statements of intention of candidacy are filed must file, in turn, all statements of intention of candidacy with the county election commission respective county party executive committee by noon on the tenth day following the deadline for filing statements by candidates. If the tenth day falls on a 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 transmit, in turn, all the statements of intention of candidacy along with the applicable filing fees with to the State Election Commission by noon on the tenth day following the deadline for filing statements by candidates. If the tenth day falls on a 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 the candidate's statement of intention of candidacy has not been filed with the county election commission or State Election Commission authority authorized to receive filings, as set forth above, as the case may be, by the deadline. The candidate's name must appear if the candidate produces the signed and dated copy of his timely filed statement of intention of candidacy.
(C) 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. It must be filed in triplicate by the candidate, and the political party committee authority 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 executive committee or the State Election Commission, as the case may be.
(D) 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; provided, that for the office of State Senator, the discretion must be exercised by the state committee.
(E) 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."
SECTION 2. Section 7-11-210 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act No. 226 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-11-210. Every candidate for selection as a nominee of any political party for any state office, United States Senator, member of Congress, or solicitor, to be voted for in any party primary election, shall file with and place in the possession of the treasurer of the state committee by twelve o'clock noon on March thirtieth a notice or and pledge in the following form, the blanks being properly filled in and the notice or and pledge signed by the candidate: `I hereby file my notice as a candidate for the nomination as in the primary election to be held on . I affiliate with the Party, and I hereby pledge myself to abide by the results of the primary and I authorize the issuance of an injunction upon ex parte application by the party chairman, as provided by law, should I violate this pledge by offering or campaigning in the ensuing general election for election to this office or any other office for which a nominee has been elected in the party primary election, unless the nominee for the office has become deceased or otherwise disqualified for election in the ensuing general election'. If March thirtieth falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice and pledge must be filed on the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
Every candidate for selection in a primary election as the nominee of any political party for member of the Senate, member of the House of Representatives, and all county and township less than county offices shall file with and place in the possession of the county chairman or other officer as may be named by the county committee election commission of the county in which they reside by twelve o'clock noon on March thirtieth a like notice and pledge. If March thirtieth falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the notice and pledge must be filed on the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
The notice of candidacy required by this section to be filed by a candidate in a primary must be signed personally by the candidate, and the signature of the candidate must be signed in the presence of the county chairman a member of the commission or other officer person as may be named by the county committee commission with whom the candidate is filing, or a candidate must have his signature on the notice of the candidacy acknowledged and certified by any officer authorized to administer an oath. Any notice of candidacy of any candidate signed by an agent in behalf of a candidate shall not be valid.
In the event that a person who was defeated as a candidate for nomination to an office in a party's primary election shall thereafter offer or campaign as a candidate against any nominee for election to any office in the ensuing general election, the state chairman of the party which held the primary (if the office involved is one voted for in the general election by the electors of more than one county), or the county chairman of the party which held the primary (in the case of all other offices), shall forthwith institute an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for an order enjoining the person from so offering or campaigning in the general election, and the court is hereby empowered upon proof of these facts to issue an order."
SECTION 3. Section 7-13-40 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 226 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-13-40. In the event that a party nominates candidates by party primary, a party primary must be held by the party and conducted by the State Election Commission and the respective county election commissions on the second Tuesday in June of each general election year and a second and third primary each two weeks successively thereafter, if necessary. Certification of the names of all candidates to be placed on primary ballots must be made by the political party chairman, vice chairman, or secretary to the State Election Commission or the county election commission, whichever is responsible under law for preparing the ballot, not later than twelve o'clock noon on April ninth, or if April ninth falls on a Sunday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday. Political parties nominating candidates by party primary must verify the qualifications of those candidates prior to certification to the appropriate election commission of the names of candidates to be placed on primary ballots. The written certification required by this section must contain a statement that all candidates certified meet the qualifications for the offices for which they have filed. The filing fees for all candidates filing to run in all primaries, except municipal primaries, must be transmitted by the respective political parties to the State Election Commission and placed by the executive director of the commission in a special an account designated for use in conducting the primaries and must be used for that purpose elections. The filing fee for each office is one percent of the total salary for the term of that office or one hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater."
SECTION 4. Section 7-13-45 of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 434 of 1996, is further amended to read:
"Section 7-13-45. In every general election year, the county chairman election commission shall:
(1) designate a specified place other than a private residence where persons may file a statement of intention of candidacy;
(2) designate a specified place other than a private residence either its office, or the county board of voter registration office in the event there is no election commission office, as the place where persons may file as candidates;
(3) establish regular hours of not less than four hours a day (a) on the first day of filing and (2) during the final seventy-two hours of the filing period in which he a commissioner or some person he designates designated by the commission must be present at the designated place to accept filings;
(4) place an advertisement to appear two weeks before the filing period begins in a newspaper of general circulation in the county at least five by seven inches in size that notifies the public of the dates of the filing period, the offices which may be filed for, the place and street address where filings may be made, and the hours that an authorized person will be present to receive filings."
SECTION 5. Section 7-13-350 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-13-350. The nominees in a party primary or party convention held under the provisions of this title by any political party certified by the commission under this title for one or more of the offices, national, state, circuit, multi-county district, countywide, or less than countywide, to be voted on in the general election must be placed upon the appropriate ballot for the election as candidates nominated by party by the authority charged by law with preparing the ballot if the names of the nominees are certified by the political party chairman, vice-chairman, or secretary to the authority, for general elections held under Section 7-13-10, not later than twelve o'clock noon on September first or, if September first falls on Sunday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday and for a special or municipal election, by at least twelve o'clock noon on the thirtieth day prior to the date of holding the election, or if the thirtieth day falls on Sunday, by twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday. Political parties nominating candidates by primary or convention must verify the qualifications of those candidates prior to certification to the authority charged by law with preparing the ballot. The written certification required by this section must contain a statement that all candidates certified meet the qualification for the offices for which they have filed."
SECTION 6. Section 7-13-351 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-13-351. (A) Any nominee by petition for one or more of the offices, national, state, circuit, multi-county district, countywide, or less than countywide, to be voted on in the general election must be placed upon the appropriate ballot by the officer, commissioners, or other authority charged by law with preparing the ballot if the petition is submitted to the officer, commissioner, or other authority, as the case may be, for general elections held under Section 7-13-10, not later than twelve o'clock noon on August first or, if August first falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. At the time the petition is submitted, the authority charged with accepting it shall issue a receipt to the person submitting the petition which shall must reflect the date it was submitted and the total number of signatures contained therein. The board of voter registration of each respective county shall check the petition at the request of the authority charged with printing the ballot for that office and shall must certify the results to the authority not later than twelve o'clock noon September first or, if September first falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.
(B) The petition of any candidate in any special or municipal election must be submitted to the authority charged with printing the ballot for those offices not later than noon, on the forty-fifth day prior to the date of the holding of the election, or if the forty-fifth day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, by not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The petition must be accompanied by a filing fee of one percent of the total salary for the term of that office or one hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater. However, if the total salary for the term of the office is less than one hundred dollars, the filing fee is one percent of the salary. At the time a petition is submitted, the authority charged with accepting it must issue a receipt to the person submitting the petition which must reflect the date it was submitted and the total number of signatures contained therein. The board of voter registration of each respective county must check the petition at the request of the authority charged with printing of the ballots for that office and must certify the results thereof to the authority not later than twelve o'clock noon on the thirtieth day prior to the date of holding the election, or if the thirtieth day falls on Sunday, by twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday.
(C) Once submitted for verification, a petition for nomination of a candidate for any office may not be returned to the petitioner, but must be retained by the authority to whom the petition was submitted and must become a part of the records of the election for which it was submitted.
(D) In the event of an emergency declared by the Governor and the conditions precipitating the emergency declaration prevent a candidate from filing the nominating petition within the time required by this section, the candidate has an additional five days to submit the nominating petition to the appropriate office."
SECTION 7. Section 7-13-352 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-13-352. Any candidate for a nonpartisan office, multi-county district, countywide or less than countywide, to be voted on at the time of the general election, who qualifies by statement of candidacy shall must file the statement of candidacy with the authority responsible by law for conducting the election not later than twelve o'clock noon on September first or, if September first falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, not later than twelve o'clock noon on the following Monday next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. The statement of candidacy must be accompanied by a filing fee of one percent of the total salary for the term of that office or one hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater. However, if the total salary for the term of the office is less than one hundred dollars, the filing fee is one percent of the salary."
SECTION 8. Section 7-11-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 7-11-30. (A) If a party nominates candidates by conventions, the state convention shall nominate the party's candidate for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and all other statewide officers and United States Senators, members of Congress, and circuit solicitors, and the county conventions shall nominate the party's candidates for all county offices. No convention shall make nominations for candidates for offices unless the decision to use the convention method is reached by a three-fourths vote of the total membership of the convention, except the office of State Senator and of member of the House of Representatives. The nomination of the party's candidates for the office of the State Senator and of member of the House of Representatives must be made in the manner determined by the state committee. If a party determines that nomination for the office of State Senator and of member of the House of Representatives must be by convention, these nominations must be made by the state convention. No convention shall make nominations for one or more offices at the convention and order primaries for other offices to be filled during the same election year. Conventions for political parties not nominating candidates in primaries may be called by state and county committees on other dates than those given in this title for conventions after three weeks' published notices of the calls. Any political party nominating candidates by party convention shall nominate the party candidates and make the nominations public not later than the time for certifying candidates to the authority charged by law with preparing ballots for the general or special election.
(B) The filing fee for a candidate nominated by convention is one percent of the total salary for the term of that office or one hundred dollars, whichever amount is greater. However, if the total salary for the term of the office is less than one hundred dollars, the filing fee is one percent of the salary. Filing fees must be paid to the authority charged by law with preparing ballots for the general or special election."
SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.