Action Alert (sent to members whose legislator is on the relevant Senate Judiciary Subcommittee)

THREE IMPORTANT BILLS DEALING WITH ELECTIONS ARE BEING HEARD IN SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE ON TUESDAY, MARCH 16. PLEASE ASK YOUR SENATOR TO ACT.

Please promptly ask your SC Senator, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing these bills, to take action on the three election bills as indicated in Talking Points below.  A friendly office assistant will answer. Identify yourself as a constituent of the representative and provide your personal perspective on the bill.

Please do not use email unless you put CONSTITUENT in the subject line. Many legislators do not open their emails. It is more effective to call.

TALKING POINTS ON THE THREE ELECTION BILLS
1. S. 113 - Handling of absentee ballots Please ask your senator to amend this bill to:
1) Allow on-line submission of requests for an application for an absentee ballot. The requirement that the request be printed out and mailed or hand delivered confuses many voters.
2) Allow secure drop boxes for ballot return. These boxes have been used successfully by SC counties and in many states; they improve voter access as well as election administration efficiency without compromising security.
3) Most important of all, allow any authorized person (§7-15-310) to return absentee ballots to an official at an election office or authorized extension. The restriction in S.113 as currently written, that only immediate family members can return ballots for a voter, would restrict many people to increasingly uncertain USPS delivery. In particular, many persons with disabilities rely on unrelated assistants and caregivers, who would no longer be able to deliver ballots for them.
2. S. 174 - Disclosure of dark money intended to influence elections Please ask your senator to support this sensible measure to shed sunlight on dark money in South Carolina. Our state is one of only two without any disclosure requirements for third party groups attempting to influence elections.
3. S. 499 - Appointment of Executive Director of State Election Commission (SEC) Please ask your senator to support S. 499, which would require Senate advice and consent for appointments to the State Election Commission (SEC) and for the Executive Director of the SEC. This would broaden input into appointments to the crucial positions associated with this vital agency. Thank you for acting promptly! Eight bills on elections are being heard on Tuesday; three are "housekeeping" and do not concern the League. An update on the other five bills to be considered, including the three highlighted above, can be found in both of our two MDW (Making Democracy Work) Network Updates of March 12, here (morning) and here (afternoon). For a full update on LWVSC advocacy at the State House, updated several times a week, regularly check Legislative Advocacy on our website. The information in the Making Democracy Work Network Updates may inspire you to personal advocacy beyond that requested by LWVSC!