On June 16, South Carolina finished its recount of the Demcratic U.S. Senate race. Bob Conley received 74,185 votes; Michael Cone received 73,127. This is disappointing for the Working Families Party, since it had already nominated Cone. Under section 7-11-10, since Cone was defeated for the Democratic nomination, he can’t be the Working Families nominee either. so the WFP now has no nominee for U.S. Senate in South Carolina.
The WFP will not run a candidate against one nominated by the Democratic Party, but I don’t agree with your analysis of state law 7-11-10 and it’s possible impact on the candidacy. The WFP controls it’s ballot line, not the democratic Party. The DPs decision to nominate Conley should have no impact on the right of the WFP to have Cone as their nominee.
I feel the law may be unconstitutional, but it is on the books. What is strange is that if Conley had also asked the WFP to nominate him at their May convention, and if he had been defeated at that WFP convention, Conley would (under that law) be barred from running as a Democrat!
Yeah; when I first saw this, I was wondering what would happen if the Green Party placed the names of all the Democrats and Republicans in nomination at their convention, just so they could vote them down.
But if the statute doesn’t mean what Richard thinks it means, then what is its purpose?
South Carolina law requires parties that nominate by convention to provide for declarations of candidacy in advance of the conventions, or at the time of the convention. So if someone doesn’t want to be considered at a convention, and he or she doesn’t file a declaration of candidacy, the convention can’t consider that person.
This matter is certainly not set. In fact, in an unrelated case, I was sent an email by a staff member at the state Elections Commission saying that if our party certified a candidate who lost a primary, the state would refuse to place that name on the ballot.
When one considers that the state has placed the name of people manifestly unqualified to serve, such as a convicted felon who’s conviction involved official corruption, on the ballot in the recent past, it’s hard to understand how this position is tenable.
I must also point out that in at least one case I am familiar with, the Green Party, a bona fide ballot qualified political party, placed a candidate’s name on our ballot well in advance of the primary. This particular candidate may well have been refused the party’s nomination because we use consensus. One party member agreed to stand aside and allow the candidate to win our nomination, but yes, as Richard points out, had we refused to grant our ballot line to the candidate, would he have been ineligible to run in the primary?
Finally, the declaration Richard speaks of must be filed with at least one political party in a two week period in March. Candidates who seek another party ballot line can do so by filling out this same paperwork before the parties must certify their nominees. All candidates, whether they are nominated by primary or by convention, must fill out this same paperwork.
Hi Richard,
I’m with the Eugene Platt for SC State House campaign, and was going to ask your thoughts anyway, so it’s good to see there has been some discussion of this already.
As far as SECTION 7‑11‑10, another interpretation is that the legislative intent was to preclude a situation in which a person who was defeated in one party’s primary (or convention) SUBSEQUENTLY seeking to get on the general election ballot as, for example, any other party’s nominee for the same office.
Alternatively, the legislative intent may have been, specifically, to preclude a situation in which a person who was defeated in, for example, a Democratic Party primary—seeking to be on the Democratic Party ballot line in the general election.
Would anyone be able to help us win this fight to keep Eugene on the ballot?
SECTION 7‑11‑10. Methods of nominating candidates.
Nominations for candidates for the offices to be voted on in a general or special election may be by political party primary, by political party convention or by petition; provided, no person who was defeated as a candidate for nomination to an office in a party primary or party convention shall have his name placed on the ballot for the ensuing general or special election, except that this proviso shall not prevent a defeated candidate from later becoming his party’s nominee for that office in that election if the candidate first selected as the party’s nominee dies, resigns, is disqualified, or otherwise ceases to become the party’s nominee for such office before the election is held.