COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Republican presidential primary is just weeks away, and if you plan to vote early you will see three additional questions on your ballot.
“None of these issues that are on the ballot outside of who do you choose for president have any level of binding when it comes to the law. It is simply giving an opinion so that the party and elected officials can know and understand a general sense of where people are on these three issues,” Dave Wilson conservative political strategist said.
These yes/no questions include:
- Should South Carolina law be changed to give people the right to register to vote with the political party of their choice?
- Should South Carolina adopt reforms to increase the independence and accountability of our judiciary by improving transparency and reducing conflicts of interest in the process of reviewing judicial qualifications and electing judges?
- Should it be an immediate legislative priority to protect South Carolina's competitiveness and small businesses by changing state law so that a person's responsibility for financial damages in a lawsuit is based on that person's actual share of responsibility?
Wilson says voters should learn more about the questions before voting.
“For one of the first times in a long time you can read through these questions and if you have at least a general understanding of what’s happening you can then be able to vote in an educated way on the issues that are there,” he said.
News 19 reached out to the South Carolina Republican Party who denied a request for an interview.
According to Wilson, you’re not required to vote on the questions but it is useful for the Republican party.
“One of the most important things that’s done with this information is it gives a general idea for the party and for elected officials to note is this issue important enough to for us to make it a primary thing that we need to be discussing and working on,” Wilson said.
Early voting for the Republican presidential primary will begin Monday Feb 12th until Friday Feb 23rd. The primary takes place Saturday Feb 24th.