In this week’s edition of our Advocacy Summer School series, we’re exploring elections in South Carolina. If you missed our first four emails in this series, take a moment to go back to read!
Overview
In South Carolina, House members are elected every two years, Senators are elected every four years, and the governor and other constitutional officers are elected every four years. Senate elections happen the same year as the presidential election, and the governor’s election happens in the mid-term election.
If a Senator or Representative vacates their seat during their term, a special election will be held to fill it, and the winner will serve out the rest of that term.
Who Can Run?
Anyone running for Governor, the Senate, or the House of Representatives in South Carolina must be a resident of the State and live in the district they are running to represent (if applicable). They must be registered voters. They also cannot have a felony conviction or an offense against the election laws unless it has been 15 years since the completion of their sentence or if they have been pardoned.
Finally, there is an age requirement. House members must be at least 21, Senators 25, and Governor 30. Virtually all candidates in South Carolina run either as a Republican or as a Democrat.
There are additional requirements for other constitutional offices but in this email, we will focus on the election of the General Assembly and the Governor.
Fundraising and Campaigning
To begin a run for office, you must file for election with either the State Election Commission or the candidate’s county election commission. Filing for elections in South Carolina opens on March 16 of the election year and closes on March 30. Once a person has filed for election they begin to campaign.
Campaigning for office usually includes raising money to support your campaign efforts. In South Carolina, the maximum amount that a person or private entity can give directly to a candidate is $1,000 per election cycle.
Candidates will use the funds they raise to pay for things like campaign staff, online advertising, mail, phone calls and more. Candidates are required to disclose to the South Carolina Ethics Commission who they have received money from and what they have spent that money on. Candidates cannot accept cash donations or anonymous donations.
Independent Expenditure
In South Carolina elections, there are often independent expenditures being run. An independent expenditure is when a group, not the candidate themselves, runs a campaign either for or against a candidate. These groups are not subject to the same reporting laws as the candidate.
Importantly, an independent expenditure campaign cannot be in any way coordinated with a candidate. The next time you get a political mailer look to see who it was paid for by. It could be from a group doing an independent expenditure!
Voting
There are six requirements you must meet to be able to vote in South Carolina. To vote in a particular election you must be registered to vote at least 30 days before the election.
In South Carolina, there is a period before election day in which you can vote early. This is 15 days before the Friday or Saturday of the election. After that, you can vote on election day by going to your polling place.
For more information about who can vote and how to vote check out the SCVotes website.
Election Types
Primaries
Primary elections are held in South Carolina on the second Tuesday in June in an election year. A primary election is when two or more candidates of the same political party compete to become their party’s nominee for the general election.
In South Carolina, there is a lot of attention paid to the primary elections as many districts in our state are predominately represented by one party. For example, in a predominately Republican house district, whoever wins the Republican primary will most often go on to win the general election.
General
General elections are held on the second Tuesday in November in an election year. The general election is where candidates are chosen to represent the area they are running to represent (district, state, or country). As noted above, in South Carolina, almost everyone running in the general election is either a Republican or a Democrat. After a candidate wins the general election, they will be sworn into that office.
Runoff
In South Carolina elections if no one person receives 50% plus one vote, then the two candidates with the most votes go into a runoff election. The winner of the runoff election is the winner and goes on to the general election, if the runoff was in the primary, or to be sworn in if the runoff was in the general election. In South Carolina, almost all runoffs occur during the primary elections.
Primaries
As noted above, a special election is when an elected official vacates their seat during their term and an election is held to replace them.
Pop Quiz
The answers will be included in next week’s post.
Question 1: South Carolina voters must register their party affiliation when registering to vote and can only vote in that party’s primary elections. True or False?
Question 2: If you have donated to a political campaign there is a public record of that contribution. True or False?
Question 3: What should you bring when you go to vote?
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A bill showing your address
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A campaign mailer from your favored candidate
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Your photo ID
Extra Credit
Check your voter registration to make sure it is still accurate, or register to vote if you haven’t!
The answers to last week’s quiz:
Question 1. A candidate must be at least 30 years old to run for Governor.
Question 2. South Carolina has had 117 governors.
Question 3. Until 1812, all governors from South Carolina had come from Charleston.
