The 2012 South Carolina election cycle already promises to be memorable even before candidates hit the starting gate.
A S.C. Supreme Court decision that chopped about 200 candidates from the June 12 primary ballots started an avalanche of actions that threatened to postpone the primaries. State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said the election will proceed as planned. “All county election commissions should proceed with the printing of absentee ballots, preparation of voting machines, mailing of absentee ballots and the opening of the in-office absentee machines,” Whitmire said. “The SEC and (county election commissions) are under no court order directing us to delay any election activities. We cannot delay these activities to see what a court may do. “Some counties were asking whether they should ‘wait and see’ on the outcomes of the various lawsuits before printing and/or issuing ballots. The answer is that we can’t do that.”
The high court removed candidates from the primary who had not filed their paperwork on time. As a result, Democrats Donna Brown in the Bamberg County probate judge race and Darnell Johnson in the Orangeburg County sheriff’s race were removed. Republican Perry Finch was also dropped from the state Senate District 26 race. Another factor, redistricting, will also come into play. Voters who haven’t kept abreast of changes in the political map may find themselves in different state House and Senate districts, not to mention new county council districts. The primaries will be held June 12 with any runoff scheduled for June 26. The general election is Nov. 6.
Full Article: Chaotic primary season nears conclusion.