EXCLUSIVE: Investigators looking into allegations of illegal State House vote swapping

State and federal law enforcement officials are questioning S.C. legislators about potential illegal vote swapping in February’s race that re-elected the state’s Supreme Court chief justice, multiple sources have told The State.

State Rep. Tommy Stringer, R-Greenville, said he met with State Law Enforcement Division agents last month. He said agents asked him about connections between lawmakers switching their commitments to vote for a candidate in a Greenville County Family Court race and the chief justice’s race.

State lawmakers elect judges in South Carolina. However, swapping judicial-vote commitments in exchange for a promise is illegal under state law, punishable with a $1,000 fine or 90 days in prison.

State Rep. Jenny Horne, R-Dorchester, also was approached by SLED and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents about the vote-swapping allegations, according to four sources with direct knowledge of the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Horne — who played a key role in Chief Justice Jean Toal’s re-election bid, led by now-suspended House Speaker Bobby Harrell — declined to comment Friday.

Legislators are buzzing with reports of a multi-pronged investigation into legislative ethics in the wake of Harrell’s removal after he was indicted last month on nine campaign-finance charges.

“All of us are walking on eggshells,” said state Rep. Brian White, R-Anderson, head of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

‘Why would you have people switching?’

The race to lead the Supreme Court — between Toal and Associate Justice Costa Pleicones — was unprecedented and contentious. In recent history, no one could recall another member of the S.C. Supreme Court challenging a sitting chief justice who was seeking re-election.

Lawmakers quickly lined up behind Toal or Pleicones, and fought to win over uncommitted lawmakers.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation say state and federal authorities want to know if an illegal deal was struck before the two judicial elections.

The probe centers on allegations that some legislators agreed to support Toal in the chief justice’s race in exchange for others agreeing to back Tarita Dunbar in a Greenville County Family Court race. Dunbar, an African-American attorney, had the backing of the Legislative Black Caucus.

Stringer, who was working to win votes for Dunbar’s Family Court opponent, Katherine Tiffany, said SLED agents asked him: Why did a Greenville Family Court race matter in the contest between Toal and Pleicones? They also asked: “Why would you have people switching their commitment before the vote?”

Horne had pledged to help Tiffany, another lawmaker said on the condition of anonymity. But she changed her commitment soon before the Family Court vote.

“(Horne) was the biggest switch we had at the last minute,” said the lawmaker, who backed Tiffany.

Dunbar won election by 24 votes. Horne was one of 19 Republican supporters of Toal in the House and Senate who voted for Dunbar. A larger group of Republicans, 30, voted for Toal and Tiffany.

‘Something out of nothing’

Horne was one of the leaders of Toal’s re-election bid, serving as Harrell’s floor chief in the chief justice’s race — counting heads for Toal.

Toal won her re-election bid by 21 votes. She received the votes of 33 members of the 37-member Black Caucus, including 24 members of the House.

Toal said Friday that many Black Caucus members did not commit to a candidate for chief justice until days before the Feb. 5 election.

“They took their time,” she said.

Toal won over African-American legislators because they thought she would be the most effective and fair of the candidates, Black Legislative Caucus chairman Harold Mitchell, D- Spartanburg, said Friday.

Asked if African-American lawmakers traded votes for Dunbar in exchange for other legislators supporting Toal, Mitchell said, “Heck, no.”

“If the Black Caucus votes together, people think we’re trading votes, doing something wrong,” said Mitchell, a state representative. “No one says that when the GOP votes together.”

Mitchell said complaints of vote-swapping are being stirred up by lawmakers who are upset about Tiffany losing. “Someone is trying to make something out of nothing.”

Toal said Friday that Dunbar won votes from Republicans because Iris Campbell, the widow of the late, popular GOP Gov. Carroll Campbell, was calling lawmakers on Dunbar’s behalf.

Toal said reports of a vote-swapping investigation amount to gossip. She said she has not been approached by investigators and was unaware of any wrongdoing in the election.

Toal said she received backing from a large majority of Black Caucus members because of her civil rights work. “I have a lot of relationships there.”

Pleicones, who said he has not been approached by investigators, said Friday that he did not want to speculate on why the vote did not go his way.

“A lot of people give you their spin,” he said.

This story was originally published October 3, 2014 at 9:15 PM with the headline "EXCLUSIVE: Investigators looking into allegations of illegal State House vote swapping."