SC House OKs bill empowering State Election Commission over county election offices
Frustrated by South Carolina counties enacting varying election-related procedures last year, the South Carolina House sent a measure to the Senate on Wednesday firming up the State Election Commission’s oversight and power over how those counties conduct elections and internal matters.
The House voted 84-36, mostly along party lines, to pass House Speaker Jay Lucas’ proposal giving the state’s elections director broader power and supervision to ensure that county boards are complying with federal and state election laws, Lucas and other Republicans said.
The original legislation included measures to also expand the State Election Commission board, giving House and Senate leaders the authority to appoint members — an authority only allowed right now by the governor. But the House stripped those provisions out of the proposal entirely, avoiding a longer fight on the chamber floor that would have delayed its passage.
Republicans said the heart of the legislation is to make sure all county election and voter offices are uniform and to give every South Carolina voter confidence their vote is treated the same, said House Ethics Committee chairman Jay Jordan, R-Florence.
But House Democrats suggested Wednesday the legislation is merely the first step in what could turn into a broader power grab and lead to voter suppression. And county election offices said the state agency already has broad authority over them and would push unfunded mandates onto counties that already sometimes struggle to find enough money to hold elections.
There could be “unintended consequences that people are not foreseeing with this bill,” said Isaac Cramer, with the Charleston County Board of Elections and Registration.
For instance, Cramer questioned what happens if the local election board issues a directive contrary to the state.
“The State Election Commission does not conduct elections, we do. The local counties do. We conduct elections,” Cramer said. “... We’re opposed to this, and we want our voice heard in this matter.”
The State Election Commission — the state’s umbrella agency that is responsible for overseeing federal, state and local elections — has had broad authority over county election matters dating back to 2014, authority that can go as far asrequesting an employee’s dismissal or making recommendations for retraining.
Gov. Henry McMaster urged the Legislature on Monday to pass the legislation, saying election laws must be clear statewide.
“This critical legislation will enhance accountability at the State Election Commission and safeguard the voting process against the threat of fraud, which if left unchecked could do permanent damage to our republican form of government,” he said.
The legislation could meet challenges in the Senate.
State Sen. Shane Martin, R-Spartanburg, questioned Wednesday whether there was any “meat in this bill.”
The legislation is a “small step,” Lucas, R-Darlington, said adding it would fill exposed holes in county election practices.
“If there are cracks, somebody’s got to fill them in,” Lucas said. “We can’t fill them in 46 ways.”
