Special election to fill vacant Richland council seat set

The Richland County elections office has set dates and a tentative budget for a primary and potential runoff and special election for Kelvin Washington's vacated District 10 council seat.

Gov. Nikki Haley last week removed Washington from his seat after determining his failure to file income taxes for three years to be a crime of moral turpitude.

The interim representative could be elected in as few as one and as many as three elections, depending on whether there is a clear winner in the primary and whether there are candidates from multiple parties.

The District 10 seat traditionally has been held by Democrats.

The partisan primaries for the District 10 seat will be held concurrently with the already scheduled primaries June 14.

If there is no clear winner in the primary, a runoff will be held concurrently with the already scheduled June 28 runoff elections.

If candidates file from both parties, a special election will be held July 19.

Richland County Council approved the schedule Tuesday night.

The cost to Richland County for the special election could be as little as $33,500 or as much as $96,200, depending on whether one, two or three elections are required, county elections officials say.

When filing for Richland County offices opened last week, three Democratic candidates entered the race for the District 10 seat: Bernice Scott, who is Washington’s mother-in-law; Helen Taylor Bradley; and Jerome Marvin Miller.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 8:40 PM.