2023-24 Legislative Advocacy
The LWVSC Board od Directors determines statewide legislative priorities grounded in the good governance issues that are at the heart of the League of Women Voters.
The League remains focused intensively on its Making Democracy Work (MDW) campaign: voting and elections, redistricting, and opposition to constitutional convention resolutions. The League, as always, will attempt to advocate on all bills falling within our areas of interest as defined in state and national policies. Follow our latest Making Democracy Work (MDW) Network Updates to organizations that share our interests.
Related LWVSC Electoral Democracy Positions/Issues
LWVSC Bills of Interest
Campaign Finance
H.4561 Campaign Finance - Dependent Care for Immediate Family Members
We are pleased to be able to strongly support this bill which would allow campaign funds for dependent care expenses.
Election Procedures
H.4590, Early Voting Hours
The League applauds this bill extending early voting hours to 7:00 PM rather than 6:00 PM for statewide general elections and from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM for runoff elections and other elections that are not statewide general elections.
H. 4022, Instant Runoff Voting
The League supports this bill, which would permit the use of Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), also known as Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), in municipal elections in South Carolina.
H.4259, Hand Count Audit Act
We cannot support this bill, which would allow demands for a “full hand recount” of ballots from any county, an act both unnecessary and fiscally imprudent.
H. 4260, Voter Access and Transparency Act
This bill would end no-excuse early voting. There is no reason to repeal this convenience for voters.
H. 4261, Clean Voter Roll Act
This bill would transfer responsibility for maintenance of voter rolls from the State Election Commission to county election commissions. The potential for security breaches would be high.
H. 4591, Ranked Choice Voting Ban
This bill would prohibit the use of “instant runoff voting” and “ranked choice voting” in any South Carolina election. This would preclude the use of an efficient and cost-effective voting method.
S.406 Expediting Vote Tallies
S. 406 adds tabulation of early voting ballots to absentee-by-mail ballots. The League supports this badly needed accommodation for the efficient tabulation of ballots in preparation for timely election reporting after polls close. The provision that hand-count audits of ballots must be conducted publicly is also very important to ensure the integrity of the process and citizen confidence in our elections.
H. 38923 Witness Signatures
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina believes that H.3823 is unnecessary and a potential obstacle to legitimate voters who are unable to vote in person.
H. 3734 Municipal Elections
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina applauds the improved consistency that H.3734 will bring to municipal elections. We ask that you amend this bill to eliminate the March and July options.
Closed Primary Elections
H. 3695 Closed Primary Elections
The League of Women Voters of South Carolina opposes H.3695. Primary elections are publicly funded and should not be subject to constraints that limit the ability of the public to have a voice in how we are governed.
