According to this news story, on May 14, the 3-judge U.S. District Court hearing Somers v South Carolina Election Commission orally ruled after the hearing that no relief can be granted to the candidates left off the June 12 primary ballot. Almost 200 candidates were kept off Democratic and Republican primary ballots (for state legislature and local partisan office) because of confusion over the deadline for filing a Statement of Economic Interests.

The story also says, at the bottom, that a group called “Operation Lost Vote” will help these candidates to collect signatures to get on the ballot as independents. The petitions are due in mid-July. They are very stringent, and require signatures equal to 5% of the number of registered voters (the law is much easier for statewide independents, and somewhat easier for independent candidates for U.S. House).

South Carolina has had very few independent candidates on its general election ballot. No one has ever qualified as an independent candidate for statewide office, other than President; and no one has ever qualified for U.S. House as an independent. Independent candidates appear on the November ballot with the label “By petition”, not “independent.” Over the years there have been qualified minor parties in South Carolina named the Independent Party, and anyone looking at old election returns might be deceived. True independent candidates are listed in the election returns as “petition” candidates, not “independent” candidates.