(AP) -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee says lawmakers must try to approve legislation returning candidates to the June primary ballots who were bumped off because of a state Supreme Court decision.
Sen. Larry Martin told The Associated Press on Friday those candidates deserve to be on the ballots. The Pickens Republican says it's a matter of fairness.
The state's high court ruled earlier this week that candidates should be removed from ballots because of improperly filed financial paperwork. The ruling tossed about 200 candidates from races statewide.
Any change in South Carolina election law requires federal approval. Martin says gaining legislative approval and federal pre-clearance in a month will be hard.
He says his committee will meet Tuesday on a resolution that would treat challengers and incumbents the same.
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