S 694

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 694
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
Committee Report
March 25, 2026
S. 694
Introduced
by Senator Young
S. Printed 3/25/26--H.  [SEC
3/26/2026 9:47 AM]
Read the first time March 5, 2026
________
The AIKEN DELEGATION
To whom was referred a Bill (S. 694) to amend
the South Carolina Code of Laws by amending Section 7-7-40, relating to
designation of voting precincts in Aiken County, so as to provide that if the Board,
etc., respectfully
Report:
That they have duly and carefully considered
the same, and recommend that the same do pass:
WILLIAM CLYBURN for the
Delegation.
_______
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION 7-7-40, RELATING TO DESIGNATION OF VOTING PRECINCTS IN AIKEN COUNTY, SO
AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF THE BOARD OF VOTER REGISTRATION AND ELECTIONS DETERMINES
THAT A PRECINCT CONTAINS NO SUITABLE LOCATION FOR A POLLING PLACE, THE BOARD,
UPON APPROVAL OF A MAJORITY OF THE COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION, MAY LOCATE
THE POLLING PLACE INSIDE THE COUNTY AND WITHIN FIVE MILES OF THE PRECINCT'S
BOUNDARIES.
    Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.A.  Section 7-7-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-7-10.  (A) For the purpose of holding any general, primary, or
special election in this State, the voting precincts and
voting places in the several counties of the State shall be designated,
fixed, and established by the General Assembly.
    (B) The polling places for the precincts
must be established by the county boards of voter registration and elections,
subject to the approval of a majority of the applicable county legislative
delegation, if required under this chapter, and located in accordance with the
following:
       (1) at least one polling place must be
located within each precinct unless a county board of voter registration and
elections determines no suitable location for a polling place is within a
precinct; and
       (2) a polling place located outside of a
precinct must be within five miles of the precinct boundary unless a waiver is
received from the Executive Director of the State Election Commission or his
designee.
    (C) Nothing in this chapter
prohibits a county board of voter registration and elections from establishing multiple polling places within a precinct, provided that voters
are assigned to these polling places alphabetically or geographically as
determined by the county board of voter registration and elections and approved
by a majority of that county's legislative delegationa polling place for a precinct at the polling place of another
precinct if the establishment is in accordance with subsection (B).
    (D) A voter must be notified in
writing of his transfer to a new polling place and the location of the new
polling place.
B.     A polling place
that is assigned to a precinct on the effective date of this SECTION is deemed
to be located in accordance with Section 7-7-10, as amended by this act.
SECTION 2.  Section 7-7-710 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-7-710. The State Election Commission shall report the names of all polling
precincts by county that have more than one thousand five
hundredthree thousand registered electors as
of January first to the General Assembly not later than the fourth Tuesday of
each odd-numbered year.  If, by April first of the same
year, the General Assembly has failed to alter the precincts so that no
precinct shall have more than one thousand five hundred qualified electors the
State Election Commission shall notify the respective county boards of voter
registration and elections which shall make such alterations as necessary to
conform all precincts to such limitations. Provided, that precincts isolated by
water shall not be required to meet minimum requirements.
SECTION 3.  Section 7-7-720(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    (A) A person whose registration is
transferred to another precinct by virtue of the
provisions of this article must be notified by mail by the county board
of voter registration and elections of the transfer.
SECTION 4.  Section 7-7-910(A) of the S.C. Code
is amended to read:
    (A) Subject to the provisions of Section 7-7-920 and Section 7-5-440
and except as provided in subsection (B) of this section, each elector must be
registered and, unless otherwise specified on his voting certificate,Unless otherwise provided in this title, each registered elector
shall vote at the designated polling place within for the precinct of his residence,
but in incorporated municipalities in which officers are elected by wards or
other municipal subdivisions, electors must be registered and shall vote at
their designated polling places.
SECTION 5.  Section 7-7-920 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
7-7-920. In all municipal elections when the aldermen or
councilmen are elected by wards, the electors shall vote at the voting place
within their ward nearest their residences, and in all municipal elections when
the aldermen, councilmen or other officials are elected by a vote at large
within the municipality, the electors shall vote at the voting place in the
precinct within which they reside which is nearest their residences.
    In all municipal elections
when the ward lines and the precinct lines coincide within the city limits of
the municipality, electors shall vote at the nearest voting place within the
ward or precinct.
    InIf
any city or town with a population under three thousand,
according to the most recent official United States census, has having not more than one polling precinctplace, established by
ordinance, for municipal elections, then all duly qualified electors shall be permitted to
vote in municipal elections at such the polling voting place if such electors are authorized to vote at any voting precinct
within such city or town.
SECTION 6.  Section
7-7-730 of the S.C. Code is repealed.
SECTION 7.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on March 26, 2026 at 09:48 AM