Senator Jake Knotts, technically a Republican but more an old school Boll Weevil, may be at the center of the controversy in South Carolina that saw hundreds of names removed from the primary ballot. The Garnet Spy has this exhaustive account which conforms to everything I have heard and know about the matter.
Thanks for noticing this ballot fiasco in South Carolina. http://www.OperationLostVote.org has been launched via 6 press conferences across our state today to help any ousted candidates who want to move forward as petition candidates. This can happen in any state with a corrupt legislature and an activist Supreme Court. This should be a national story, challengers tossed from ballots while incumbents enjoy a different election law standard.
Thanks for noticing this ballot fiasco in South Carolina. http://www.OperationLostVote.org has been launched via 6 press conferences across our state today to help any ousted candidates who want to move forward as petition candidates. This can happen in any state with a corrupt legislature and an activist Supreme Court. This should be a national story, challengers tossed from ballots while incumbents enjoy a different election law standard.
Karen – not sure that the Supreme Court is activist here. My read is that they took a very strict plain language approach to the law. The law exempts certain individuals from the simulataneous filing. I understand what happened here. My suggestion to new candidates is that the very first thing they do is to reserve an afternoon and go to the library and pull out the election code and read it cover to cover. Had any of these candidates read the code, they would have discovered the law required a simultaneous filing of the SEI with the filing forms. It is plainly in the statute.
I would have thought the SC Supreme Court would give weight to the more current law re: filing of SEI from 2010
http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/bills/3066.htm
The commission shall establish a system of electronic filing for all disclosures and reports required pursuant to Chapter 13, Title 8 and Chapter 17, Title 2 from all persons and entities subject to its jurisdiction. These disclosures and reports must be filed using an Internet-based filing system as prescribed by the commission. Reports and disclosures filed with the Ethics Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives for legislative offices must be in a format such that these filings can be forwarded to the State Ethics Commission using an Internet-based system.