COVID-19 absentee expansion bill clears SC House, heads to Gov. McMaster
A bill that would expand absentee voting to all registered South Carolina voters in the Nov. 3 general election as a pandemic-related safety measure is headed to the governor’s desk after clearing the House Tuesday.
The bill, which passed 115-1, allows “no-excuse” absentee voting, but retains the requirement that absentee voters get a witness to watch them sign their absentee ballot envelope — a requirement that a federal judge suspended for the June primary, citing the risk of COVID-19 transmission — and scraps plans to add more ballot drop boxes.
Gov. Henry McMaster has yet to weigh in on the absentee expansion bill, which passed unanimously in the Senate last week, but signed a similar bill the Legislature approved ahead of the June primary.
The absentee voting expansion bill approved Tuesday differs from what lawmakers passed in advance of the primary in that it pushes up the deadline for returning an absentee ballot application and permits county election officials to open the outer envelope of absentee ballots two days in advance of Election Day.
Per the bill, county voter registration offices must receive absentee ballot applications by 5 p.m. on Oct. 24, if submitted by mail, and 5 p.m. on Oct. 30, if submitted in person.
Election officials may then open absentee ballot envelopes at 7 a.m. on Nov. 1, two days before Election Day, in a move that is expected to speed up vote counting.
State Rep. Wendy Brawley, a Hopkins Democrat, proposed amendments to eliminate the witness requirement and to allow county boards of voter registration and elections to collect absentee ballots in secure drop boxes, but both amendments failed.
House Democrats argued passionately that the amendments would preserve the health and safety of voters by minimizing the amount of contact they’d be required to have with others and prevent the disenfranchisement of shut-in seniors and individuals who are self-isolating due to COVID-19.
“No one should have to risk their lives trying to find a witness,” Brawley said.
But Republican members rejected the amendments, raising concerns that they could lead to voter fraud and jeopardize the integrity of the election results.
The South Carolina Republican Party released a statement shortly after the bill passed commending lawmakers for voting to “uphold election integrity.”
“The upcoming election is absolutely critical – from president on down to school board, and voter integrity must be protected at all costs,” SCGOP Chairman Drew McKissick said. “Despite the Democrats’ efforts to change the voting rules in the middle of the game, voters can rest assured knowing the safeguards we have in place will remain.”
Brawley, like all but one of her colleagues — Rep. Leon Howard, D-Richland — ultimately supported the bill, saying that while it didn’t accomplish everything she thought was necessary to keep voters safe during the pandemic, it was crucial to expand absentee voting.
It remains to be seen whether the courts will again strike down the provision requiring that absentee voters have a witness sign their mail-in envelopes.
In May, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction barring South Carolina from requiring absentee voters to get a witness signature in the primary election due to the risk posed by COVID-19.
“We’ll have to let the courts do what the courts do,” House Majority Leader Gary Simrill said Tuesday, when asked by a Republican House member what could be done if a judge intervenes.
If a judge does rule against the witness requirement, the decision can be appealed.
As of Tuesday, more than 130,000 South Carolinians have tested positive for COVID-19 since March and nearly 3,000 have died as a result of complications from the virus.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 3:53 PM.