Tag: Florence County Republican Party

SCGOP Drops Ball, Fails County Chairs

When, and if, voters go to the polls Tuesday to vote in the Republican or Democratic primaries, they still may be voting for ineligible candidates.

According to information we have been gathering over the past 24 hours, the adherence to the requirement in state law for non-exempt candidates to file a Statement of Economic Interest “at the same time and with the same person” as they file their Statement of Intention of Candidacy, cannot be guaranteed even at this time.

In two separate rulings, the S.C. Supreme Court has said both documents had to be filed in accordance with state law section 8-13-1356(B) and it was the responsibility of the parties to verify that had been done.

In a May 2, 2012 ruling, the Court directed the parties to verify their records and certify candidates to the S.C. Election Commission by May 4, 2012.

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Florence Blinks, More Candidates Eliminated

Florence Blinks, More Candidates Eliminated

New developments in the election filing controversy that won’t go away saw more candidates eliminated from Tuesday’s upcoming primary ballots and a potential for more candidate challenges after the voting.

The Florence Republican Party requested a clarification from the S.C. Supreme Court yesterday on whether candidates who were incumbents in one office, but running for a different office in this election cycle, were to be treated as new candidates with respect to filing a Statement of Economic Interests at the same time and with the same person that they filed their Statement of Intention of Candidacy.

The Supreme Court refused to provide a clarification. Some took this to mean that the Court felt it had already answered the question with its May 2, 2012 and June 5, 2012 rulings.

This led an already gun shy Florence party to make the decision that such candidates were to be treated as new candidates and were subject to state code Section 8-13-1356(B).

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Republican Party’s Day in Court

The Republican Party will have the opportunity Monday to convince the justices of the S.C. Supreme Court that it did follow state law and the May 2, 2012 ruling of the court in certifying candidates for the June 12, 2012 primary ballot.

The task will not be easy for party officials because documents released in the past month point to the fact that the party did not follow the law. In fact, charges of favoritism and cherry picking candidates for certification have been levied by unsuccessful candidates.

Two cases will be heard Monday. The first has the Florence County Democratic Party suing the Florence County Republican Party for certifying candidates who did not file in accordance with the law. The second has House District 105 candidate Bert von Hermann suing to have candidate Blake Hewitt removed from the ballot for not filing properly. Von Hermann is already off the ballot for the same reason.

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Certifying Unqualified Candidates, Is the GOP Playing Favorites?

A new hearing on the never ending candidate filing controversy is scheduled for the S.C. Supreme Court on June 4, 2012.

A very clear ruling on the requirements of state law pertaining to candidate filing requirements, specifically Section 8-13-1356(B), was issued by the S.C. Supreme Court on May 2, 2012. Irrespective of that decision, it appears some candidates got onto the June 12th primary ballots anyway.

The new hearing resulted from of an affidavit the Florence County Republican Party submitted to the Supreme Court in which it acknowledged only one of the 15 candidates it certified for the June 12th primary ballot actually filed the proper paperwork on time.

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