South Carolina has never charged candidates filing fees if they are nominated in a convention. Only candidates running in primaries have ever needed to pay a filing fee. In South Carolina minor parties always nominate by convention instead of by primary.

Also, South Carolina has always had open primaries since primaries first began in the state.

But forty-nine South Carolina Representatives have introduced HB 3643, which requires candidates nominated in a convention to pay a filing fee. Also the bill establishes closed primaries, and provides that voter registration forms ask applicants to choose a party, or independent status. If the bill passed, no one could vote in a primary without being a party member.

The bill has a hearing on January 21, Wednesday, at noon, in the House Judiciary Committee. Here is the text of the bill.

The South Carolina House has 124 members.

The bill does not require independent candidates to pay a filing fee, but independent candidate petitions in South Carolina are very severe. South Carolina is the only state in which no one has ever qualified as an independent candidate for either house of Congress. The requirement for statewide office and U.S. House is 10,000 signatures.

UPDATE: a second bill for closed primaries, HB 3310, would not impose filing fees on convention nominees.