FLORENCE COUNTY -- The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Florence County Republican Party deliberately disregarded the court's ruling and improperly certified candidates for the June 12th Primary Election.
The Florence County Democratic Party sued the Florence County Republican Party.
Last month, the SC Supreme Court ruled that candidates who had not filed a paper copy of a Statement of Economic Interest (SEI) along with an Statement of Intention of Candidacy (SIC) by the March 30th deadline could not be on the June 12th ballot.
This resulted in nearly 200 names being removed from the ballot statewide.
The court ordered the Florence County Republican Party to file a list of the qualified candidates with the SC Supreme Court, the Florence County Election Commission and the SC State Election Commission by 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The Florence County Democratic Party had removed the names of eight of their candidates who failed to file in time, but accused their Republican counterparts of certifying all of their candidates, even those who failed to file properly or on time.
The Florence County Republican Party admitted they certified individuals as candidates who didn't comply with the filing requirements as construed by the Court, but they contended, because the term "candidate" is including in the definition of "public official," the candidates who filed their SEI's online prior to filing an SIC with the County Republicans had SEIs on file and were public officials who were exempt from the filing requirements.
We understand the decision will affect between four and seven Republican candidates. Their names have not been officially announced by the party yet.
The State Supreme Court disagreed with the county Republican Party's argument.
You can read the courts full opinion here.
SCGOP Chairman Chad Connelly issued a statement following the S.C. Supreme Court's decision, saying, "Today's Supreme Court decision is extremely disappointing. This is a sad day for South Carolina voters. It's tragic that good citizens, both Republicans and Democrats, attempted to file as candidates, only to have their names tossed out over a technicality. The Supreme Court has injected itself into the political parties' once exclusive right to choose their candidates."
