Ballot access requirements for political parties in South Carolina

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Public Policy Logo-one line.pngin South Carolina


Election Policy Logo.png
Ballot access for major and minor party candidates
Ballot access for presidential candidates
List of political parties in the United States
Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
Public Policy Logo-one line.png
Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • As of May 2024, South Carolina officially recognized nine political parties: the Alliance, Constitution, Democratic, Green, Independence, Labor, Libertarian, Republican, and United Citizens parties.
  • In some states, a candidate may choose to have a label other than that of an officially recognized party appear alongside his or her name on the ballot. Such labels are called political party designations. South Carolina does not allow candidates to use political party designations.

    • To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in South Carolina, see this article.

    DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

    Process for a political party to obtain ballot status

    Seal of South Carolina

    DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Title 7, Chapter 9, Title 7, Chapter 11 of the South Carolina Code of Laws

    A political party is defined as "a political party, organization, or association certified by the state election commission."[1]

    General requirements

    Political parties desiring to nominate candidates for offices to be voted on in a general or special election must, before doing so, petition the state election commission for certification no later than six months before the election.[2]

    A petition for the certification of a new political party must be signed by 10,000 or more registered electors residing in South Carolina. The petition must provide the name of the party, which must be substantially different from the name of any other party previously certified.[3]

    In order for any political party to retain certification status in the state, it must perform the following organizational tasks as required by law:

    1. New political parties must organize at the precinct level by holding county conventions before March 31 in each general election year during a month determined by the state committee.[2][4][5]
    2. New political parties must organize and hold a state convention before May 15 in every general election year on a day and at a time fixed by the state committee and announced publicly at least 10 days before the meeting.[5][6]
    3. New political parties must nominate candidates for national, state, multi-county district, countywide, or less than countywide office by either convention or party primary.[7]
    4. New political parties must certify their candidates in at least one of two consecutive general elections held in November in an even-numbered year or in any other election which might be held within the period of time intervening between the two general elections.[8]

    Political parties

    See also: List of political parties in the United States


    As of May 2024, there were nine recognized political parties in South Carolina. These are listed in the table below.[9]

    Party Website link By-laws/platform link
    Alliance Party of South Carolina Link Party platform
    Constitution Party of South Carolina Link
    Democratic Party of South Carolina Link
    Green Party of South Carolina Link Party platform
    Independence Party of South Carolina Link Party platform
    Libertarian Party of South Carolina Link Party platform
    Republican Party of South Carolina Link Party platform
    South Carolina Workers Party Link Party platform
    United Citizens Party of South Carolina

    Historical events

    2014

    Convention nominations ruling

    On April 24, 2014, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that ballot-qualified parties that have nominated candidates via convention in the past may continue to do so without first obtaining permission from their prospective primary voters. The decision resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Libertarian Party against the South Carolina State Election Commission. The Libertarian Party challenged a requirement imposed by the enactment of SB 2 in 2013. The bill stipulated, among other things, that parties cannot transition from primary nominations to convention nominations without first seeking the approval of primary voters. The Libertarians filed the lawsuit in an effort to clarify ambiguities surrounding that provision.[10]

    American Party certification

    In January 2014, South Carolina certified the newest political party in the state, the American Party of South Carolina.[11] The party was led by Oscar Lovelace, a Republican candidate for governor in 2006, and Jim Rex, a former state education superintendent and the 2010 Democratic nominee for governor.[12] The party obtained 16,000 petition signatures, more than the 10,000 required, over the course of a year.[11] "If you are looking for a champion for a single issue, we are not your party," Rex said. The party promised to nominate more "moderate" candidates for South Carolina's congressional seats. Its platform included support for term limits and more government transparency.[12]

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker

    Election tracker site ad.png


    State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.

    Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.

    Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:

    • Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments
    • We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language
    • And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan

    The Ballot Bulletin

    Ballot-Bulletin-Header-D2.jpg


    The Ballot Bulletin is a weekly email that delivers the latest updates on election policy. The Ballot Bulletin tracks developments in election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news. Each email contains in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. You'll also be able to track relevant legislation, with links to and summaries of the bills themselves.

    Recent issues

    Click below to view recent issues of The Ballot Bulletin.

    Subscribe

    Enter your email address below to subscribe to The Ballot Bulletin.



    See also

    Influencer Project Badge.png

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, "Title 7:1-20," accessed January 23, 2014
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 South Carolina Code of Laws, "Title 7: Elections, Section 7-9-10," accessed November 25, 2013
    3. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, "Title 7-9-10," accessed January 16, 2014
    4. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, "Title 7-9-70," accessed January 16, 2014
    5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 SC State Elections Commission, "2014 Election Calendar," accessed November 25, 2013
    6. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, "Section 7-9-100," accessed January 16, 2013
    7. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, "Section 7-11-20, 7-11-30, and 7-13-40," accessed January 16, 2013
    8. ↑ South Carolina Code of Laws, "Section 7-9-10," accessed December 11, 2013
    9. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Certified Political Parties of South Carolina," accessed May 23, 2024
    10. ↑ Ballot Access News, "South Carolina Supreme Court Rules that Minor Parties Don't Need to Get Permission from Primary Voters to Continue Nominating by Convention," April 24, 2014
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 WISTV.com, "American Party, brainchild of former gubernatorial candidates, officially certified," accessed February 3, 2014
    12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Herald Online, "Former GOP, Democratic gubernatorial candidates seek to create third party in S.C.," accessed February 3, 2014
    Flag of South Carolina
    v • e
    State of South Carolina
    Columbia (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2024 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    v • e
    Ballotpedia
    About
    Editorial Content
    Geoff Pallay, Director of Editorial Content and Editor-in-Chief • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Daniel Anderson, Managing Editor • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor • Cory Eucalitto, Managing Editor • Mandy Gillip, Managing Editor • Doug Kronaizl, Local Elections Project Manager • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Brianna Galatioto • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Nathan Maxwell • Ellie Mikus • Jackie Mitchell • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Maddie Sinclair Johnson • Abbey Smith • Janie Valentine • Joel Williams • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox • Mercedes Yanora
    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Ballot_access_requirements_for_political_parties_in_South_Carolina&oldid=9564937"