1999-2000 Bill 3007: Political Party Affiliation, Pledge of Candidates, Notice of Candidacy

1 BIL: 3007 2 TYP: General Bill GB 3 INB: House 4 IND: 19990112 5 PSP: Govan 6 SPO: Govan 7 DDN: l:\council\bills\pt\1119dw99.doc 8 RBY: House 9 COM: Judiciary Committee 25 HJ 10 SUB: Political party affiliation, pledge of candidates, notice of candidacy, 11 terms of; Elections 12 13 14 HST: 15 16 Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved 17 ______18 House 19990112 Introduced, read first time, 25 HJ 19 referred to Committee 20 House 19981209 Prefiled, referred to Committee 25 HJ 21 22 23 Printed Versions of This Bill 24 25 26 27 28 TXT: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A BILL 10 11 TO AMEND ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 11, TITLE 7, CODE OF 12 LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 13 7-11-230 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A CANDIDATE WHO 14 EXECUTES A CANDIDACY PLEDGE WITH A POLITICAL 15 PARTY FOR PURPOSES OF OFFERING FOR ELECTION AS 16 PROVIDED IN SECTION 7-11-210 AND CHANGES HIS 17 POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION DURING THE TERM OF 18 THE OFFICE FOR WHICH HE WAS ELECTED IS DEEMED 19 TO HAVE VACATED THE SEAT TO WHICH HE WAS 20 ELECTED, AND TO AMEND SECTION 7-11-210, AS 21 AMENDED, RELATING TO NOTICE OF CANDIDACY AND 22 PLEDGE, SO AS TO INCLUDE THIS LANGUAGE IN THE 23 PLEDGE WHICH EVERY CANDIDATE MUST FILE AS 24 ADDED IN SECTION 7-11-230 BY THIS ACT. 25 26 Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South 27 Carolina: 28 29 SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 11, Title 7 of the 1976 Code is 30 amended by adding: 31 32 “Section 7-11-230. A candidate who executes the pledge 33 required by Section 7-11-210, who is subsequently elected in the 34 general election to that office, and who changes his political party 35 affiliation while serving in that office is deemed to have vacated 36 the office to which he was elected effective the date of the change 37 in the political party. A vacancy in the office must be declared and 38 the office filled in the manner provided by law.” 39 40 SECTION 2. Section 7-11-210 of the 1976 Code, as last amended 41 by Act 226 of 1996, is further amended to read: 42

1 [3007] 1 1 “Section 7-11-210. (A) Every candidate for selection as a 2 nominee of any political party for any state office, United States 3 Senator, member of Congress or solicitor, to be voted for in any 4 party primary election, shall file with and place in the possession 5 of the treasurer of the state committee by twelve o’clock noon on 6 March thirtieth a notice or pledge in the following form, the blanks 7 being properly filled in and the notice or pledge signed by the 8 candidate: ‘I hereby file my notice as a candidate for the 9 nomination as in the primary election to be held on . I 10 affiliate with the Party, and I hereby pledge myself to abide by 11 the results of the primary and I authorize the issuance of an 12 injunction upon ex parte application by the party chairman, as 13 provided by law, should if I violate this pledge by offering or 14 campaigning in the ensuing general election for election to this 15 office or any other office for which a nominee has been elected in 16 the party primary election, unless the nominee for the office has 17 become deceased or otherwise disqualified for election in the 18 ensuing general election’. Furthermore, I pledge to maintain my 19 party affiliation with the ______Party for the term of this office 20 if I am elected. If I violate this pledge and change my party 21 affiliation while serving in this office, I understand that I am 22 deemed to have vacated the office on the date that I change my 23 affiliation.’ 24 (B) Every candidate for selection in a primary election as the 25 nominee of any political party for member of the Senate, member 26 of the House of Representatives, and all county and township 27 offices shall file with and place in the possession of the county 28 chairman or other officer as may be named by the county 29 committee of the county in which they reside by twelve o’clock 30 noon on March thirtieth a like notice and pledge. 31 (C) The notice of candidacy required by this section to be filed 32 by a candidate in a primary must be signed personally by the 33 candidate, and the signature of the candidate must be signed in the 34 presence of the county chairman or other officer as may be named 35 by the county committee with whom the candidate is filing, or a 36 candidate must have his signature on the notice of the candidacy 37 acknowledged and certified by any officer authorized to administer 38 an oath. Any notice of candidacy of any candidate signed by an 39 agent in behalf of a candidate shall is not be valid. 40 (D) In the event that If a person who was defeated as a 41 candidate for nomination to an office in a party’s primary election 42 shall thereafter offer offers or campaign campaigns as a candidate 43 against any nominee for election to any office in the ensuing

1 [3007] 2 1 general election, the state chairman of the party which held the 2 primary (if the office involved is one voted for in the general 3 election by the electors of more than one county), or the county 4 chairman of the party which held the primary (in the case of all 5 other offices), immediately shall forthwith institute an action in a 6 court of competent jurisdiction for an order enjoining the person 7 from so offering or campaigning in the general election, and the 8 court is hereby empowered upon proof of these facts to issue an 9 order.” 10 11 SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor 12 and is effective for offices which are filled beginning with the 13 2000 general election and all subsequent elections, whether special 14 or general. 15 ----XX----

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