Closed primaries
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Create an account to record your position, submit testimony, or contact your legislator.
Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Overview
This bill changes South Carolina’s primary elections to ‘closed primaries,’ meaning only voters registered with a political party can participate in that party’s primary. It requires voter registration forms to include party affiliation selection and allows voters to change their affiliation once a year, with a 60-day notice requirement. The State Election Commission is tasked with creating procedures to manage party registration and changes.
Key provisions
- Voter registration must include party affiliation.
- Voters can change their party affiliation once per year.
- Primary elections must be ‘closed,’ allowing only registered party members to vote.
- Republican and Democratic primaries are restricted to registered Republicans and Democrats, respectively.
- Other officially recognized parties must also have closed primaries.
- The State Election Commission must establish procedures for party affiliation records.
Who is affected
- Voters
- Political parties
- South Carolina residents
- State Election Commission
- Registered voters
Notable changes
- Previously, South Carolina held open primaries where voters could participate in any party’s primary.
- This bill restricts primary participation to registered party members.
Bill text
Read the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
Text extraction is in progress. View the official source.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
1 on record
Primary sponsor
Arguments
Reasons offered for and against this legislation.
Arguments in favor
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yours