COLUMBIA, S.C.  

South Carolina leaders and election officials have remained adamant the state’s elections are safe and secure.

But some believe more can be done to improve the public’s confidence in them.

“While we’re not experiencing the issues that may be going on in other states, it is imperative that people trust our election process,” Rep. Weston Newton, R – Beaufort, and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said during a Judiciary subcommittee meeting Thursday.

Newton is the lead sponsor of a bill that would make a handful of changes to South Carolina’s voting law, intending to accomplish that goal of bolstering trust.

But one provision in particular drew opposition from civic groups at the hearing, the bill’s first.

“This legislation could have the unfortunate impact of placing an undue burden on community and civic groups who only want to help democracy stick around,” Courtney Thomas with the ACLU of South Carolina told members of the subcommittee.

The bill would impose regulations on third-party voter registration efforts, rules South Carolina currently lacks in any capacity but which its sponsor said are already in place in nearly half of all states.

Groups that hold events where people can sign up to vote would have to pay a $100 fee to register with the State Election Commission (SEC) before the event, and failure to do so could result in a fine of up to $500 for each event they hold without proper registration.

“This bill places unnecessary burdens on community organizations, young leaders, and grassroots groups, the people who work tirelessly every day to ensure every South Carolinian has the opportunity to actively participate in our democracy,” Dylan Gunnels with the civic group “Be the Ones” said.

Some worry these fees and fines would discourage smaller groups and nonprofits from holding voter registration events, like schools, churches, and organizations on college campuses.

“These groups provide a very positive social service and civic service, citizen-to-citizen outreach, and there is no documented pattern of abuse,” Lynn Teague with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina testified.

The bill would also mandate groups turn in registration applications to the local county election office within 10 days of them being filled out, facing up to a $1,000 fine for not doing so, handed down at the SEC’s discretion.

Teague told lawmakers that could prompt groups that accidentally miss that window to throw out registration applications, with applicants unaware and believing they had registered to vote, instead of turning them in and risking a fine.

The bill would also require that when groups themselves with the state, they acknowledge voter registration laws and penalties for violations.

Newton said his legislation is not intended to have a chilling effect, as some fear it would.

“The folks that are out soliciting people to register to vote ought to understand the law, ought to understand the law on who is eligible to vote,” he said.

Watch the full interview at the link above.