COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican voters casting their vote in the June 14 primary election may see a series of questions on their ballot. Here's what you need to know before heading to the polls.
These voters will have three yes/no "advisory questions" on the primary ballot this time. In fact, it is not unusual for the Republicans or Democrats to add questions to their primary ballots to feel out the opinion of voters for future legislation.
The first question asks if people should "have the right to register with the political party of their choice when they register to vote."
Currently, South Carolina primaries are open, meaning if you are going to cast a vote in the June 14 election, a voter who hasn't declared a party isn't bound to a particular party's primary.
For example, since South Carolina has no system requiring you to declare or register with your political party of choice, a Republican who hasn't declared their party is free to vote in the Democrat primary -- just as a Democrat can cast their vote in a Republican primary if they have not registered/declared their party affiliation when they initially registered to vote.
This current system allows for individuals in districts where they may be in a political minority to still exercise their right to vote for who they think is the best candidate, regardless of party affiliation.
The second question is, "Should candidates for local school boards be able to run as a candidate of the political party of their choice, just like candidates for other elected offices?"
Right now, school board elections and most city and town council elections in South Carolina are non-partisan. Earlier this year, representatives for the Lancaster County School District put forth an amendment in the South Carolina House (H.4800) that would change the nature of that district's elections from non-partisan to partisan. The bill made it through the House and Senate (R.132) but Governor Henry McMaster vetoed it on March 29, 2022.
The third question is a bit more straightforward and deals with the payment of damages based on fault. The question reads, "In a situation where there is more than one person responsible for damages in a lawsuit, do you support changing South Carolina law so that each person should pay damages based on that person's actual share of fault?"
This refers to the rule of "joint and several liability." An example: If there are multiple defendants in a case, and even though one of those defendants has been determined to be responsible for only 5 percent of the fault, that single defendant might end up paying the entire damage settlement to the plaintiff if the other defendants are found to be insolvent.
The question put forth suggests a scenario where, if you were responsible for 5 percent of the damage, you would only be responsible for 5 percent of the payment/reimbursement to the plaintiff.
