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Last year, The South Carolina State Election Commission (SEC) attempted to pass a huge package of election regulations that would centralize power through illegal regulations. Thanks to the concerned citizens across the state, we were able to stop these proposed regulations. The SEC is back again this year to pass some of the same regulations this coming Thursday, 2/20/2024 at 9:00AM in the House Education and Administrative Subcommittee.
Special thanks to former Representative Jonathon Hill through his bad bill sheet for reviewing and providing comments on these regulations (as well as inspiring the thumbnail.) Here is a breakdown of some of the most egregious proposed regulations and what you can do about it:
D.5192 – Blocking Election Observers
D.5192 is a proposed regulation that adds new definitions of election-related terms. This regulation was withdrawn last year because of the backlash from the grassroots but has been resubmitted with no changes.
The definition of “observer” gives poll clerks the power to refuse to allow observers to watch election proceedings.
This violates Article I, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitutions that protects citizens from having their rights taken away without due process.
D.5193 – Restricting Voter List Access
D.5193 is a proposed regulation that restricts the sale of the South Carolina voter list to only in-state registered voters. This regulation was withdrawn last year because of the backlash from the grassroots but has been resubmitted with no changes.
This proposal allows the price of the voter list to be raised by the State Election Director, reducing accountability and setting a dangerous standard for state agencies and implementing fee hikes without legislative review. South Carolina’s current voter lists costs $2500 plus fees, one of the most expensive voter rolls in the country. This is already illegal as this fee is not a “reasonable cost” as required by SC Code of Law Title 7.
D.5196 – Delay Filing of Election Official Oaths
D.5196 is a proposed regulation that adopts language partly from the SC Code of Law but CHANGES the requirement for election oaths to be filed “immediately” to “as soon as practicable.” This regulation was withdrawn last year because of the backlash from the grassroots but has been resubmitted with no changes.
This regulation is illegal as state law currently requires county election board members’ and poll managers’ oaths of office to be recorded with the clerk of court. This regulation violates the current law by creating an opposing deadline.
D.5202 – Candidate Withdrawal Deadline
D.5202 is a proposed regulation that imposes a 60-day deadline to withdraw from running for office. This regulation was withdrawn last year because of the backlash from the grassroots but has been resubmitted with no changes.
This regulation is illegal as the State Election Commission does not have the statutory authority to impose a deadline. Current state law outlines the withdrawal of a candidate.
D.5203 – Electronic Petitions
D.5203 is a proposed regulation that allows the electronic collection of petitions to place a candidate on the ballot. This regulation was withdrawn last year because of the backlash from the grassroots but has been resubmitted with no changes.
This regulation is illegal as the State Election Commission does not have the statutory authority to allow the electronic collection of election petition signatures. In 2021, the state passed the South Carolina Electronic Notary Public Act that allows electronic notarisation. This proposed election regulation does not require any security measures like current law, which requires signature verification by comparing a persons voter file. Not only does this allow a state agency to go rogue, but it allows for AI generation capabilities that would allow “deepfake” signatures.
D.5204 – Election Machine Decisions
D.5204 gives the State Election Director the unilateral power to decide what electronic voting machine vendors to use. This regulation was withdrawn last year because of the backlash from the grassroots but has been resubmitted with no changes.
This regulation is illegal as state law requires the State Board of Voting Machine Commissioners and county election board decisions to test the new machines before formally adopting them. This is an attempt to all the state election director to have complete control over voting machine decisions.
Contact Committee & Members
- Please send an email to the committee’s executive assistant Donna Neal and ask her to pass your comment along to the committee that will hear these regulations on Thursday: DonnaNeal@schouse.gov
- Contact the Committee Members with your comments: https://www.scstatehouse.gov/email.php?T=C&C=H2000000285