{"data":{"id":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-7-11-15--2","jurisdiction":"us-sc","citation":"S.C. Code Ann. § 7-11-15","heading":"Qualifications to run as a candidate in general elections.","body":"(A) In order to qualify as a candidate to run in the general election, all candidates seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention must file a statement of intention of candidacy and party pledge and submit any filing fees between noon on March sixteenth and noon on March twenty-fifth as provided in this section. If March sixteenth is on a Saturday or Sunday, then the time for filing begins at noon on the next business day. If March twenty-fifth is on a Saturday or Sunday, then the time for filing extends to noon on the next business day. For purposes of this section and Section 7-13-45, \"business day\" means a day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.\n(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, candidates seeking nomination for a statewide, congressional, or district office that includes more than one county must file their statements of intention of candidacy, and party pledge and submit any filing fees with the State Election Commission.\n(2) Candidates seeking nomination for the State Senate or House of Representatives must file their statements of intention of candidacy and party pledge and submit any filing fees with the State Election Commission or county board of voter registration and elections in the county of their residence. The state executive committees must certify candidates pursuant to Section 7-13-40.\n(3) Candidates seeking nomination for a countywide or less than countywide office shall file their statements of intention of candidacy and party pledge and submit any filing fees with the county board of voter registration and elections in the county of their residence.\n(B) All candidates seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention for a general election or special election must pay a filing fee equal to one percent of the total salary for the term of the applicable office, or one hundred dollars, whichever is greater. The filing fees for the candidates, except filing fees for candidates for municipal office, must be transmitted by the respective political parties to the State Election Commission and placed by its executive director in an account designated for use in conducting elections. A lieutenant governor candidate is not required to pay a filing fee.\n(C) Political parties may charge a certification fee of up to one hundred dollars to candidates seeking nomination for a general election. To implement a certification fee, a political party's state executive committee must notify the Executive Director of the State Election Commission of its decision to charge the fee, and the amount of the fee, no later than December first of the year preceding a general election. A certification fee must be submitted with the filing fee and retained by the applicable political party. A lieutenant governor candidate is not required to pay a certification fee.\n(D) Except as provided in this section, the State Election Commission and county boards of voter registration and elections must provide a copy of all statements of intention of candidacy, the party pledge, receipt, and filing fees to the appropriate political party executive committee within two days following the deadline for filing. If the second day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the statement of intention of candidacy, party pledge, and filing fee must be filed by noon the following day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. A candidate's name may not appear on a primary election ballot, convention slate of candidates, general election ballot, or special election ballot, except as otherwise provided by law, if (1) the candidate's statement of intention of candidacy and party pledge has not been filed with the county board of voter registration and elections or State Election Commission, as the case may be, as well as any filing fee, by the deadline and (2) the candidate has not been certified by the appropriate political party as required by Sections 7-13-40 and 7-13-350, as applicable. The candidate's name must appear if the candidate produces the signed and dated copy of his timely filed statement of intention of candidacy. An error or omission by a person seeking to qualify as a candidate pursuant to this section who is not directly related to a constitutional or statutory qualification for that office must be construed in a manner that favors the person's access to the ballot.\n(E) The statement of intention of candidacy required in this section and in Section 7-13-190(B) must be on a form designed and provided by the State Election Commission. This form, in addition to all other information, must contain an affirmation that the candidate meets, or will meet by the time of the general election, or as otherwise required by law, the qualifications for the office sought. The candidate or his agent must file a signed statement of intention of candidacy and the election commission with whom it is filed must stamp the statement with the date and time received, keep the original statement, provide a copy to the candidate, and provide a copy to the appropriate political party executive committee.\n(F) The candidate or his agent must file a signed party pledge, as required pursuant to Section 7-11-210, and the election commission with which it is filed must stamp the party pledge with the date and time received, provide a copy to the candidate, and provide a copy to the appropriate political party executive committee.\n(G) The election commission with which the filing fee is filed must issue a receipt for the filing fee, stamp the receipt with the date and time the filing fee was received, provide a copy to the candidate or his agent, and provide a copy to the appropriate political executive party. The filing fee must be made payable to the appropriate political party.\n(H) If, after the closing of the time for filing the documents required pursuant to this section, there are not more than two candidates for any one office and one or more of the candidates dies or withdraws, then the state or county committee, as applicable, may afford an opportunity for the entry of other candidates for the office involved, provided the Executive Director of the State Election Commission confirms there is sufficient time for other candidates to be placed on the ballot.\n(1) In order for a state or county committee to allow entry of other candidates for the office, the committee must:\n(a) hold a public hearing within forty-eight hours of the death or withdrawal of the candidate or candidates; and\n(b) publicly vote to allow reopening of the time to file for the office.\n(2) The additional filing period for the office shall consist of three business days following the vote authorizing reopening of the time to file.\n(3) Any withdrawal must be in writing to the director of the county board of voter registration and elections in which the candidate filed, or to the Executive Director of the State Election Commission if the candidate filed with the State Election Commission.\n(I) The county chairman of a political party and the chairman of the state executive committee of a political party may designate a person to observe the filings made at the election commission pursuant to this section.\n(J) The provisions of this section do not apply to nonpartisan school trustee elections in a school district where local law provisions provide for other dates and procedures for filing statements of candidacy or petitions, and to the extent the provisions of this section and the local law provisions conflict, the local law provisions control.","path":["Title 7 - ELECTIONS","CHAPTER 11 Designation and Nomination of Candidates","ARTICLE 1 Methods of Nomination"],"source_url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t07c011.php","current_through":"2026 Session of the General Assembly","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-10-25T02:59:15Z","sha256":"5f14e856a38a9a86258269faf2fd3953b09d0dd94ec1de61f19b4879b64d0783","source_id":"us-sc","stale":false,"prev":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-7-11-15","next":"us-sc/s.c.-code-ann.-7-11-20"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}