Ballot access requirements for political candidates in South Carolina

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Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.

In order to get on the ballot in South Carolina, a candidate for state or federal office must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether a candidate or party will appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level. A candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election.

There are three basic methods by which an individual may become a candidate for office in a state.

  1. An individual can seek the nomination of a state-recognized political party.
  2. An individual can run as an independent. Independent candidates often must petition in order to have their names printed on the general election ballot.
  3. An individual can run as a write-in candidate.

This article outlines the steps that prospective candidates for state-level and congressional office must take in order to run for office in South Carolina. For information about filing requirements for presidential candidates, see "Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in South Carolina." Information about filing requirements for local-level offices is not available in this article (contact state election agencies for information about local candidate filing processes).

DocumentIcon.jpg See state election laws

Year-specific filing information

2024

U.S. Senate

For information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in South Carolina in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
South Carolina U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A $3,480.00 3/30/2024 Source
South Carolina U.S. House Unaffiliated 5% of the active, registered voters in the geographical area the office represents N/A 7/15/2024 Source


For filing information from previous years, click "[Show more]" below.

Show more

2022

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in South Carolina in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
South Carolina U.S. Senate Ballot-qualified party N/A $10,440.00 3/30/2022 Source
South Carolina U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 5% of active registered voters in the state, or 10,000, whichever is less N/A 7/15/2022 Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in South Carolina in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
South Carolina U.S. House Ballot-qualified party N/A $3,480.00 3/30/2022 Source
South Carolina U.S. House Unaffiliated 5% of the active, registered voters in the geographical area the office represents N/A 7/15/2022 Source

Governor

The table below details filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates in South Carolina in the 2022 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for gubernatorial candidates, 2022
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source Notes
South Carolina Governor Democratic or Republican N/A $4,243.12 3/30/2022 Source
South Carolina Governor Unaffiliated 5% of active, registered voters N/A 7/15/2022 Source

2020

U.S. Senate

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates in South Carolina in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. Senate candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
South Carolina U.S. Senate Qualified party N/A N/A $10,440.00 1% of annual salary multiplied by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina U.S. Senate Unaffiliated 10,000 5% of active registered voters in the state, or 10,000, whichever is less N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source

U.S. House

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in South Carolina in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in South Carolina, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2020
State Office Party Signatures required Signature formula Filing fee Filing fee formula Filing deadline Source
South Carolina 1st Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 2nd Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 3rd Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 4th Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 5th Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 6th Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 7th Congressional District Major party N/A N/A $3,480.00 1% of annual salary multipled by term of office 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina 1st Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source
South Carolina 2nd Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source
South Carolina 3rd Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source
South Carolina 4th Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source
South Carolina 5th Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source
South Carolina 6th Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source
South Carolina 7th Congressional District Unaffiliated Pending 5% of active registered voters in district as of 120 days before the election N/A N/A 8/17/2020 Source

State House

The table below details filing requirements for South Carolina House of Representatives candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
South Carolina House of Representatives Qualified party N/A $208.00 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina House of Representatives Unaffiliated 5% of active, registered voters in the district N/A 8/17/2020 Source

State Senate

The table below details filing requirements for South Carolina State Senate candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
South Carolina State Senate Qualified party N/A $416.00 3/30/2020 Source
South Carolina State Senate Unaffiliated 5% of active, registered voters in the district N/A 8/17/2020 Source

2018

See also: State and federal candidate filing deadlines for 2018 and South Carolina elections, 2018

See below for 2018 candidate filing deadlines.

March 30, 2018

2016

See also: South Carolina elections, 2016

The calendar below lists important filing deadlines for political candidates in South Carolina in 2016.

Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016
Deadline Event type Event description
March 16, 2016 Ballot access Filing period opens for primary candidates
March 30, 2016 Ballot access Filing period closes for primary candidates
April 10, 2016 Campaign finance Quarterly campaign finance report due
June 14, 2016 Election date Primary election
July 10, 2016 Campaign finance Quarterly campaign finance report due
July 15, 2016 Ballot access Filing deadline for independent candidates
October 10, 2016 Campaign finance Quarterly campaign finance report due
November 8, 2016 Election date General election
Sources: South Carolina Election Commission, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed September 21, 2015
South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "2016 Calendar," accessed January 11, 2016

2015


2014


Process to become a candidate

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Title 7, Chapter 11 of the South Carolina Code

In South Carolina, a candidate can run as the nominee of a political party, as an independent, or as a write-in.

For partisan candidates

"Statement of Intention of Candidacy/Party Pledge Form," 2013

Each non-presidential candidate seeking a political party's nomination to run in a general or special election must file a "Statement of Intention of Candidacy/Party Pledge Form" (SICPP) between noon on March 16 and noon on March 30. A candidate for federal office or statewide office (i.e., governor or secretary of state) must file with the South Carolina State Election Commission. A candidate for the state legislature, a countywide office, or a less-than-countywide office must file with the county election commission in the candidate's county of residence. The candidate must also file a statement of economic interests with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission. A candidate who files as a Democrat or Republican must pay a filing fee.[3][4][5]

For independent candidates

An independent candidate must be nominated by petition. The petition must contain signatures equaling at least 5 percent of the qualified registered electors in the geographical area of the office being sought. No petition candidate is required to collect more than 10,000 signatures for any office.[6][7]

Petition candidates for multi-county offices must file their petitions with the South Carolina State Election Commission. All petition candidates for the state legislature also file with the State Election Commission. A petition candidate must also file a statement of economic interests with the State Ethics Commission. Signature requirements are detailed in the table below.[6][8]

Petition signature requirements for independent candidates in South Carolina
Office sought Number of signatures needed
Governor and other statewide offices 5 percent of the qualified registered voters in the state
State legislators 5 percent of the qualified registered voters in the district or area to be represented

For write-in candidates

Generally, there are no filing forms or fees required to run as a write-in candidate. However, a write-in candidate should notify the appropriate election commission in writing that he or she is conducting a write-in campaign. A candidate who was defeated in a political party's primary may not actively campaign as a write-in candidate for the ensuing election.[9][10]

Petition requirements

See also: Methods for signing candidate nominating petitions

DocumentIcon.jpg See statutes: Section 7-11-80 of the South Carolina Code

In some cases, candidates may need to obtain signatures via the petition process with relation to ballot access. This section outlines the laws and regulations pertaining to petitions and circulators.

Format requirements

A petition must adhere to the following formatting requirements:[11]

  1. The petition must be printed be on good quality original bond paper sized 8 1/2 by 14 inches.
  2. The petition must include \ a concise statement of purpose (in the case of nomination of candidates, the name of the candidate, the office being sought, and the date of the election).
  3. The petition must contain the following information in separate columns (from left to right):
    • Signature of voter and printed name of voter
    • Address of residence where registered
    • Precinct of voter
  4. No single petition page can contain the signatures of registered voters from different counties.
  5. All signatures must be numbered consecutively.
  6. Petitions comprising more than one page must have the pages consecutively numbered upon filing with the appropriate authority.

Noteworthy events

2022

On August 18, 2022, Circuit Judge Alison Renee Lee directed the South Carolina Election Commission not to put the names of three Labor Party candidates on the general-election ballot. Earlier in the year, one Labor Party co-chair, Donna Dewitt, sent a letter to the state election commission certifying the names of its candidates in the general election. However, the other co-chair, Willie Legette, reported that the party had decided in March not to run any candidates in the general election. The state election commission, determining that it had no authority to settle the dispute between the co-chairs, accepted Dewitt's certification letter. This prompted the Democratic Party to file suit, arguing that the Labor Party's nominating convention, scheduled for July 30, 2022, was two months later than allowed under state law. Gary Votour, one of the candidates affected by Lee's ruling, had argued in court that the July 30 convention was a continuation of the party's 2020 convention, making the state-imposed deadline inapplicable. Lee rejected this argument: "To reconvene a convention, a political party must first convene one. Indeed, if a political party could simply deem any convention to be ‘reconvened’ from a prior one, it would render the deadline imposed by [state law] meaningless." Lee, reasoning that the case turned on whether the Labor Party had complied with the state deadline, concluded that it had not. Votour told The Post and Courier that he would appeal the ruling to the state supreme court.[12][13]

2012

South Carolina Supreme Court building in Columbia
See also: South Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2012 and South Carolina State Senate elections, 2012

During the 2012 election cycle, nearly 250 South Carolina candidates were removed from the primary ballot due to the failure of these candidates to file statements of economic interests by March 30, 2012. According to state law, candidates that had missed the filing deadline could not appear on the primary ballot. In April 2012, the State Ethics Commission extended the deadline by 10 days. The issue was ultimately brought before the South Carolina Supreme Court.[14]

In May 2012, the state supreme court ruled unanimously that any candidate who had not filed the necessary form would be ineligible to run, and subsequently ordered the political parties to remove candidates from the primary ballots.[15] The court also denied a rehearing requested by South Carolina Republican Party, the state Democratic Party, and the state election commission.[16]

Election-related agencies

See also: State election agencies

South Carolina State Election Commission

2221 Devine Street, Suite 105
Columbia, South Carolina 29205-2418
Phone: 803-734-9060
Fax: 803-734-9366
Email: elections@elections.sc.gov
Website: http://www.scvotes.org
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Term limits

State executives

State Executive Officials
See also: State executives with term limits and States with gubernatorial term limits

The state executive term limits in South Carolina are as follows:

  • The governor must wait four years and/or one full term before becoming eligible to serve again after serving two consecutive terms.
  • The lieutenant governor may serve a total of two terms.

State legislators

See also: State legislatures with term limits

There are no term limits placed on South Carolina state legislators.

Congressional partisanship

Portal:Legislative Branch
See also: List of United States Representatives from South Carolina and List of United States Senators from South Carolina

Below is the current partisan breakdown of the congressional delegation from South Carolina.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from South Carolina
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 1 1
Republican 2 6 8
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 7 9

Related legislation

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The embedded table below lists state bills affecting ballot access requirements for candidates introduced in South Carolina. The following information is included for each bill:

  • State
  • Bill number
  • Official name or caption
  • Most recent action date
  • Legislative status
  • Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized alphabetically, first by state and then by bill number. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.

Ballotpedia’s comprehensive Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker is the basis for this data. This user-friendly tracker covers thousands of election-related bills in state legislatures, and organizes them by topic with neutral, expert analysis from Ballotpedia’s election administration researchers.

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See also

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External links

Official state and federal links

Other information

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Carolina State Election Commission, "2014 Election Calendar," accessed November 4, 2013
  2. ↑ Ballotpedia phone call with State Elections Commission of South Carolina, October 9, 2013
  3. ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-15(a)," accessed January 15, 2014
  4. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Nomination by Political Party," accessed October 24, 2013
  5. ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-15(a)," accessed January 15, 2014
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-70," accessed January 15, 2014
  7. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Nomination by Petition," accessed October 24, 2013
  8. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Nomination by Petition," accessed October 24, 2013
  9. ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Write-in Candidates," accessed October 24, 2013
  10. ↑ South Carolina Code, "Title 7-11-210," accessed January 15, 2014
  11. ↑ South Carolina Election Code, "Section 7-11-80," accessed January 2, 2014
  12. ↑ [%e2%80%a6ballots/article_edecbbf4-1d63-11ed-99c5-6368746b1ef9.html The Post and Courier, "SC judge rules Labor Party candidates can’t be on November ballots," August 18, 2022]
  13. ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "Labor Party Candidates Kicked off SC Ballot; Deadline Missed," August 18, 2022
  14. ↑ The State,, "Democrats hit state’s decision allowing more time on election forms," accessed April 17, 2012
  15. ↑ The State,, "Up to 100 S.C. candidates ordered off June ballots," accessed May 4, 2012
  16. ↑ WISTV,, "Supreme Court denies parties' request for rehearing," May 4, 2012
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