Critics say it will force voters to go with political parties
By Jim Davenport
The Associated Press
South Carolina’s Democrats and Republicans are working together to limit petition candidate challenges to their nominees, raising the concerns of a voting rights advocate Monday about whether the party efforts will hurt voters’ ability to put candidates of their choosing on the ballot.
Senate Majority Leader Harvey Peeler, R-Gaffney, introduced a bill last week that would force petition candidates to file at the same time party hopefuls do. The measure also would bar those who vote in primaries from signing petitions to get independent candidates on the ballot.
“From our perspective, that voter has already participated in that nominating process,” said Jay W. Ragley, the South Carolina Republican Party’s executive director. “A voter who votes in a primary and then signs a petition is essentially given two bites at the apple to nominate someone for office.”
In a state with an open primary system, the move will force voters more than ever to go along with political parties, observers said.
“I just think it’s an unnecessary impediment to an open democratic system and it’s clearly designed to protect the two dominant parties. The notion that if you vote in a primary, you can’t sign a petition for anybody is overly broad,” said [SC Progressive Network Director] Brett Bursey, a voting rights advocate, on Monday. “There’s something about democracy that they’re not quite getting.”
Both major parties are unabashed about the desire to cut post-primary challenges to their nominees. That’s been a problem for both parties in the past. For instance, state Sen. Mike Rose of Summerville knocked off an incumbent in last year’s GOP primary and then faced a petition candidate in the general election backed by a mix of Republicans and Democrats.