Suggested/Approved LWVSC Positions
LWVOP Jan. 21, 2025 Meeting
The consensus from the membership meeting recommended adopting the positions found in The LWVSC Program and Action Agenda 2023-25. In addition to these positions, the following recommendations will be presented to the LWVSC Board for consideration at the Convention.
Placement of candidates on election ballots
Current SC law specifies that candidates for non-partisan elections are to be listed in alphabetical order on the ballot. At least 12 states require some form of randomized candidate order for nonpartisan races.
Studies show that in non-partisan races, candidates listed first on the ballot have a material statistical advantage:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0261379414000584 AND
https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/first_among_equals
We recommend that South Carolina adopt a randomized method to replace the requirement for alphabetical order.
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Reconciling discrepancies in vote totals
Based on the problems disclosed in Lee County, it seems reasonable to assume that neither test votes nor double counting of precinct votes is automatically detected. We have been discussing methods of automatic detection of these problems and are suggesting a position for LWVSC that would be easy to implement. The proposal is:
"If the number of ballots cast exceeds the number of persons voting, the county Elections Commission must alert the State Elections Commission to the situation before the county certifies the vote.”
Discussion: When asked why a recount might not match the original result, the executive director of the state elections commission informed League members that sometimes precincts were counted more than once, and sometimes precincts were left out. That was 20 years ago. The above recommendation automatically detects both the inclusion of test ballots and double counting of precincts.
