H 3552

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 3552
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION
7-13-42 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE CANDIDATE WHO RECEIVES THE LARGEST NUMBER OF
VOTES CAST FOR A GIVEN OFFICE IN THE PRIMARY OF A POLITICAL PARTY IS CONSIDERED
NOMINATED; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 7-5-150 AND 7-5-220, BOTH RELATING TO THE VOTER
REGISTRATION DEADLINE PRECEDING AN ELECTION, BOTH SO AS TO REMOVE REFERENCES TO
RUNOFF ELECTIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-11-55, RELATING TO SPECIAL PRIMARY
ELECTIONS TO REPLACE A PARTY NOMINEE, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY
AMENDING SECTIONS 7-13-25, 7-13-40, AND 7-13-190, RELATING TO EARLY VOTING, THE
DATE OF PRIMARY PARTY ELECTIONS, AND SPECIAL ELECTIONS TO FILL VACANCIES IN
OFFICE, RESPECTIVELY, ALL SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY AMENDING SECTION
7-17-280, RELATING TO MANDATORY RECOUNTS, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY
AMENDING SECTION 7-17-510, RELATING TO CANVASS AND CERTIFICATION OF PRIMARY
RESULTS, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING CHANGES; BY REPEALING SECTIONS 7-13-50,
7-17-600, AND 7-17-610 RELATING TO SECOND PRIMARIES OR RUNOFFS, THE REQUIREMENT
THAT A CANDIDATE RECEIVE A MAJORITY OF VOTES CAST IN A FIRST PRIMARY TO BE
DECLARED NOMINATED, AND METHODS OF DETERMINING WHAT CONSTITUTES A MAJORITY VOTE
FOR A PARTICULAR OFFICE, RESPECTIVELY.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Article 1, Chapter 13, Title 7 of the S.C. Code is
amended by adding:
    Section
7-13-42. The candidate who receives the largest number of votes cast for a
given office in the primary of a political party held under the provisions of
this title is considered nominated for that office whether or not the candidate
receives a majority of the votes cast.
SECTION
2.A.  Section 7-5-150 of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    Section
7-5-150. The registration books shall be closed thirty days before each
election, but only as to that election or any second race
or runoff resulting from that election, and shall remain closed until
the election has taken place, anything in this article to the contrary
notwithstanding; provided, that the registration books shall be closed thirty
days before the June primary and shall remain closed until
after the second primary and shall likewise be closed thirty days before
the November general election. They shall thereafter be opened from time to
time in accordance with the provisions of this article. Any person eligible to
register who has been discharged or separated from his service in the Armed
Forces of the United States, and returned home too late to register at the time
when registration is required, is entitled to register for the purpose of
voting in the next ensuing election after the discharge or separation from
service, up to 5:00 p.m. on the day of the election. This application for
registration must be made at the office of the board of voter registration and
elections in the county in which the person wishes to register, and if
qualified, the person must be issued a registration notification stating the
precinct in which he is entitled to vote and a certification to the managers of
the precinct that he is entitled to vote and should be placed on the
registration rolls of the precinct. Persons who become of age during this
period of thirty days shall be entitled to register before the closing of the
books if otherwise qualified.
B. Section 7-5-220 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-5-220. Except as provided in Section 7-5-150, registration made thirty days
or less before any election is not valid for that election
or any second race or runoff resulting from that election but such
registration shall be valid in any other election.
SECTION 3.  Section 7-11-55 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-11-55. If a party nominee dies, becomes
disqualified after his nomination, or resigns his candidacy for a legitimate
nonpolitical reason as defined in Section 7-11-50 and was selected through a
party primary election, the vacancy must be filled in a special primary
election to be conducted as provided in this section. The filing period for
this special primary election opens the second Tuesday after the death,
disqualification, or approval of the resignation for one week. The special
primary election then must be conducted on the second Tuesday immediately
following the close of the filing period. A runoff, if
necessary, must be held two weeks after the first primary. The
nomination must be certified not less than two weeks before the date of the
general election. If the nomination is certified two weeks or more before the
date of the general election, that office is to be filled at the general
election.
    If the nomination is
certified less than two weeks before the date of the general election, that
office must not be filled at the general election but must be filled in a
special election to be held on the second Tuesday in the month following the
election, provided that the date of the special election to be conducted after
the general election may be combined with other necessary elections scheduled
to occur within a twenty-eight day period in the manner authorized by Section
7-13-190(D).
    The procedures for
resigning a candidacy under this section for legitimate nonpolitical reasons
are the same as provided in Section 7-11-50.
    Where the party
nominee was unopposed, each political party registered with the State Election
Commission has the privilege of nominating a candidate for the office involved
through a special primary election in the same manner and under the same
procedures stipulated by this section.
SECTION
4.A.  Section 7-13-25(F) of the S.C. Code is amended
to read:
    (F) The county board of voter
registration and elections shall provide the hours of operation for the early
voting center or centers in accordance with the following:
       (1)
for statewide general elections, the early voting centers must be open from
8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on each day of the early voting period;
       (2)
for any election that is not a statewide general election
or runoff election, the early voting centers must be open Monday through
Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. during the early voting period; and
       (3) for any runoff
election, the early voting centers must be open on the Wednesday through Friday
immediately preceding the election and must be open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00
p.m.; and
       (4)(3) for any election, the early voting centers must not be
open on Sundays or on legal holidays.
B. Section 7-13-40 of the S.C. Code is 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 boards of voter registration and elections
on the second Tuesday in June of each general election year, and a second and third primary each two weeks successively
thereafter, if necessary. Written 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 board of voter registration and elections whichever is responsible under
law for preparing the ballot, not later than twelve o'clock noon on April
fifth, or if April fifth falls on a Saturday or 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 verification required by this
section must contain a statement that each candidate certified meets, or will
meet by the time of the general election, or as otherwise required by law, the
qualifications for office for which he has filed. A political party must not
certify any candidate who does not or will not by the time of the general
election, or as otherwise required by law, meet the qualifications for the
office for which the candidate has filed, and such candidate's name shall not
be placed on a primary ballot. 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 account designated for use in
conducting primary elections and must be used for that purpose. 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.
C. Section 7-13-190(B)(2) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (2) A primary must be held on the
eleventh Tuesday after the vacancy occurs. A runoff
primary must be held on the thirteenth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs.
The special election must be on the twentieth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs.
If the twentieth Tuesday after the vacancy occurs is no more than sixty days
prior to the general election, the special election must be held on the same
day as the general election. If the filing period closes on a state holiday,
then filing must be held open through the succeeding weekday. If the date for
an election falls on a state holiday, the election must be set for the next
succeeding Tuesday. For purposes of this section, state holiday does not mean
the general election day.
SECTION 5.  Section 7-17-280 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-17-280.  Whenever the difference between the
number of votes received by a candidate who has been declared nominated for an
office in a primary election or who has been declared elected to an office in a
general election and the number of votes received by any other candidate or
candidate not declared so nominated or elected or whenever
the difference between the number of votes received by a candidate who received
the least number of votes to qualify for a runoff election and a candidate or
candidates who did not so qualify shall be not more than one percent of
the total votes which were cast for such office therein, the committee or board
charged by law with canvassing such votes shall order a recount of such votes
to be made forthwith unless such other candidate or candidates shall waive a
recount in writing.
    Whenever the
difference between the number of votes cast in favor of and opposed to any
constitutional amendment, question or other issue is not more than one percent
of the total cast thereon, the Board of State Canvassers shall order a recount
of such votes to be made forthwith.
SECTION 6.  Section 7-17-510 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-17-510.  The board of voter registration and elections for the counties shall
convene a meeting on the Thursday next following the primary, before one o'clock
p.m. of that day and shall organize as the county board of canvassers for
primaries. They may appoint a competent person as secretary. The chairman shall
administer the constitutional oath to each member of the board and to the
secretary. The secretary shall administer to the chairman the same oath. Each
county board of canvassers for primaries shall canvass the votes of the county
and declare the results. The county board of canvassers for primaries shall
make statements of the votes of the precincts of its county as the nature of
the primary requires not later than twelve o'clock noon on the Saturday next
following the primary and at that time transmit and certify to the Board of
State Canvassers the results of its findings. This
procedure must be repeated following every primary runoff. The Board of
State Canvassers shall convene a meeting scheduled through the office of the
State Election Commission and shall canvass the vote and declare the results of
the primaries and the runoffs no later than twelve
o'clock noon on the Saturday next following the primary in the State for state
offices, federal offices, and offices involving more than one county. Nothing
in this section prohibits any meeting required by this section from being
conducted by using telephone conference or other means of telecommunication or
electronic communication. Any meeting provided for in this section must be
accessible and without cost to the public and must comply with the notice
requirements of Chapter 4, Title 30, the Freedom of Information Act.
SECTION 7.  Sections
7-13-50, 7-17-600, and 7-17-610 of the S.C. Code are repealed.
SECTION 8.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor and applies to all primaries conducted after March 31, 2026.
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This web page was last updated on December 06, 2024 at 12:38 PM