By Brett Bursey, Director, SC Progressive Network
and Rev. Joe Neal, SC Legislative Black Caucus
Were you one of the many South Carolinians who stood in line to vote early this election, only to be told that our state doesn’t have early voting?
If you were confused about how you couldn’t vote early but could vote “in-person, absentee ballot” — provided you had one of 15 excuses to qualify — you were not alone in your befuddlement. Even our election officials don’t always agree on protocol. South Carolina’s voting laws are a hodge-podge of inconsistent rules that are interpreted and enforced by 46 independent county election directors.
Our voting system traces its roots to the constitution of 1895, which effectively codified Jim Crow laws that made it nearly impossible for black men to vote. Women couldn’t vote until 1921. For more than a century, SC citizens have been required to register to vote 30 days before an election. The rules were enacted at a time when horses were used to deliver the ballots to the county seat — way before telephones, the Internet or even Strom Thurmond.
Ben Tillman’s constitution established the county boards of elections we are still using. The governor appoints “discrete electors” to determine who votes and how in each county, some nominated by county councils and others by legislative delegations. There is no consistency in how they run their county’s voting system.