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Lawmakers, Governor hoping to make elections more 'uniform' in South Carolina

A bill that aims to make election and voting procedures the same in all 46 counties has taken its next step in the State House.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill that aims to make the election process more uniform across South Carolina has taken a step closer to becoming law. 

Many lawmakers are hoping House Bill 3444 will make elections more secure, and less confusing in the future. 

The bill gives authority to the State Election Commission to rule how elections are run across South Carolina. This comes after officials noticed in the 2020 General Election that several counties were handling certain voting issues differently.

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"We can’t have Florence County do it different than Darlington county on a crucial issue," explained Representative Jay Jordan, R-District 63. "The determining opinion on that would be the State Election Commission absent of state law."

One example Jordan is referring to is verifying witness signatures on absentee ballots. Several counties were doing this differently last year, and lawmakers want to change that. 

Governor Henry McMaster said Tuesday he supports the bill.

"What we want to do with this bill is to ensure that we have accountable procedures the same in all 46 counties," said McMaster. "Our law says that the signature of the voter on absentee ballot must be verified. What does that mean? In one county it means one thing, in another county it means something else. That’s not the way to do it, it ought to be the same in every place."

Representative Michael Rivers D- District 121, one of the many House Democrats that voted against the bill, worries it might restrict certain people from voting.

"It seems that we are looking for a problem trying to solve rather than solving a problem that we have identified," Rivers said. 

Some Democrats are concerned that taking power away from the county election boards and giving it to the state board, which is comprised of four Republicans and one Democrat, could make for unfair voting rules.

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The bill, which strictly deals with making election rules uniform, passed its second reading 84-36.

An earlier version of the bill addresses changing the make up of the state election board, but that portion has been dropped for now.

The State Election Commission tells News19 adhering to uniform laws and procedures protects the fairness and integrity of elections.

Spokesperson Chris Whitmire said, “performing under unprecedented circumstances in 2020, county election officials conducted one of the smoothest and most efficient general elections in history." 

Whitmire continued by saying the Election Commission looks forward to continuing to work with county boards to ensure elections are fair and follow the law.

The bill will need one more procedural vote in the House before being sent over to the Senate for debate.

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