Columbia, SC — Four state senators from Richland County and the state South Carolina have been sued for passing a 2011 law that merged the county’s voter registration and election offices.

The S.C. Public Interest Foundation and former state elections commission chairman William DePass complain the legislation applied to a single county, a violation of the state constitution, their attorney James Carpenter of Greenville said.

Sen. John Courson, a Richland County Republican named in the suit, said similar laws were passed for other counties. Richland County’s elections operations have come under scrutiny after a shortage of voting machines led to long lines on Election Day. The county legislative delegation will meet Monday to investigate the problems.

-- Andrew Shain