“We know what improvements need to be made,” she concluded, “but that’s not to say it won’t be an incredible challenge to change our ballots in time for the August and November elections.”
Ballots for the August election are scheduled to go out later this month.
As in Wisconsin, the situation was changing fast in South Carolina this spring.
On March 6, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported its first two cases of coronavirus. Governor Henry McMaster announced the closure of all public schools just a little over a week later, and by March 19 he had shut down dine-in service in restaurants and bars, and called for all public colleges and universities in the state to finish their semesters online.
The day after that, the State General Assembly shut down due to coronavirus concerns. And while McMaster refrained from issuing a shelter in place order at that time, he did restrict public gatherings of three or more people.
By the end of March, the Palmetto State had 925 cases of COVID-19, with 18 deaths associated with the virus.
In a letter dated March 30th, State Election Commission executive director Marci Andino sent a letter to the Governor as well as to state Senate President Senator Harvey Peeler and House Speaker Jay Lucas – all Republicans – requesting emergency changes to the state’s upcoming June primary election in light of the pandemic. She pointed out that in polling places it would be difficult to maintain the social distancing being promoted by the state’s public safety and health officials. So she suggested several options for minimizing the risk – these included expanding absentee voting, putting early voting in place prior to election day, and voting by mail.
The South Carolina legislature was called back for a quick Special Session on April 8 to consider measures that would assure funding the state’s operational needs through the next few months of the coronavirus crisis, including a proposed $15 million that would allow election officials to put safe election procedures into place for the June primary. The House gave the bill its unanimous approval, and then those members scattered for home. But the Senate started trying to tinker with deals that had taken weeks of negotiations between House and Senate leaders, and passage of the bill stalled.
That’s when Rhodes Bailey, a candidate running in the Democratic primary for a seat in the state legislature, filed suit in the South Carolina Supreme Court. He sought a declaration that would extend absentee voting to all voters attempting to maintain social distance during the COVID-19 crisis – specifically, through the end of 2020. Bailey was joined in the suit by another Democratic candidate, along with the South Carolina Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“It’s shameful the legislature refused to act on Director Andino’s warning and enact procedures that would make our elections safe,” Bailey said. “Since the legislature won’t do its job, we’re asking the Court to allow election officials to expand absentee balloting to make sure this is a free and fair election.”
Rhodes Bailey, a Democratic candidate for House District 75 in the South Carolina legislature, filed a lawsuit asking the state to provide voters with better access to absentee voting options during the coronavirus pandemic. – photo courtesy of Rhodes Bailey