Thursday, May 10, 2012
A judge is expected to discuss the lawsuit Thursday regarding nearly 200 candidates whose names have been removed from ballots for the state's June 12 primary.
A hearing will be held Thursday in Columbia to discuss a lawsuit that stripped nearly 200 candidates off the ballots for the state's June 12 primary. The Associated Press reports that U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie is considering the matter at 3 p.m. On Wednesday, the Senate rejected a proposal that would have reinstated the candidates if they filed statements of economic interest by April 15, according to The State newspaper. That would have restored almost all the ousted candidates, state Sen. Larry Martin, R-Pickens, told the paper. A Supreme Court ruling last week threw off candidates from the primary ballot who failed to submit written statements of economic interest. On Friday, state Senate candidate Amanda Somers filed a lawsuit…
Friday, May 4, 2012
An attorney acting on behalf of S.C. Senate candidate Amanda Somers filed a lawsuit this morning in federal court that challenges the S.C. Supreme Court's decision.
A South Carolina Senate candidate has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Columbia that would set aside this week's S.C. Supreme Court's ruling on the ballot controversy that has hijacked the electoral conversation just weeks ahead of the June primaries. Todd Kincannon, an attorney acting on behalf of Amanda Somers but including as plaintiffs all candidates improperly left off of ballots, filed a non-jury complaint in U.S. District Court on Friday morning that requested an emergency hearing a temporary restraining order from ballots being issued until the impasse is resolved. The lawsuit alleges that the S.C. Election Commission, among other things, had violated the Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, and that that the state's …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Amanda Somers is seeking an injunction to keep the South Carolina State Election Commission from accepting any late-filing candidates from entering the race for the District 5 seat.
Amanda Somers, a Greer businesswoman seeking to become the only woman in the South Carolina Senate, filed a civil action Wednesday seeking injunction enjoining the state election commission from accepting late-filing candidates in the District 5 Senate race until it can be confirmed that this week's reopening of candidate filing was done lawfully. Through her attorney Todd Kincannon, Somers has filed a complaint in the Richland County Court of Common Pleas — the county in which the SCGOP is headquartered. The civil action requests the court enjoin the South Carolina State Election Commission from adding any more names to the District 5 primary ballot on the basis that the lawful mechanism to reopen filing has not been implemented. …
Barbara McGowin
12:10 pm on Thursday, May 10, 2012
State Senate Ethics says there are probably some old paper SEI forms in a desk somewhere. Nevertheless, an SEI form was not available for candidates filing noon March 16 through noon March 30, 2012, the prescribed filing period for partisan candidates. Dick Harpootlian testified an SEI is submitted electronically on the State Ethics Commission’s website. The court decision states “Filing an SEI … more ›