South Carolina S 128: Voter Registration

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 128 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 128

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING 
SECTION 7-5-120, RELATING TO THE QUALIFICATIONS VOTER REGISTRATION, SO AS TO 
PROVIDE THAT A PERSON MUST PROVIDE SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE OF CITIZENSHIP TO 
REGISTER TO VOTE AND TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO DOES NOT PROVIDE SATISFACTORY 
EVIDENCE OF CITIZENSHIP MAY NOT REGISTER TO VOTE; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-5-170, 
RELATING TO THE WRITTEN APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION TO VOTE, SO AS TO PROVIDE 
FOR THE DOCUMENTATION THAT THE COUNTY BOARD OF VOTER REGISTRATION MAY CONSIDER 
AS SATISFACTORY EVIDENCE OF CITIZENSHIP; AND TO PROVIDE THAT THE ATTORNEY 
GENERAL MUST REVIEW THE REGISTRATION ROLLS IN EFFECT ON THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF 
THIS ACT TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH THIS ACT.

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 7-5-120 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
7-5-120. (A) Every citizen of this 
State and the United States who applies for registration must be registered if 
he meets the following qualifications:

 (1) 
meets the age qualification as provided in Section 4, Article II of the 
Constitution of this State;

 (2) 
is not laboring under disabilities named in the Constitution of 1895 of this 
State; and

 (3) 
is a resident in the county and in the polling precinct in which the elector 
offers to vote.; and

 (4) has provided satisfactory evidence 
of citizenship pursuant to Section 7-5-285.

 (B) A 
person is disqualified from being registered or voting if he:

 (1) 
is mentally incompetent as adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction; or

 (2) 
is serving a term of imprisonment resulting from a conviction of a crime; or

 (3) 
is convicted of a felony or offenses against the election laws, unless the 
disqualification has been removed by service of the sentence, including 
probation and parole time unless sooner pardoned.; or

 (4) is unable to provide satisfactory 
evidence of citizenship pursuant to Section 7-5-170.

SECTION 2. Section 7-5-170 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
7-5-170. (1) Written application required.(A) A person may not be 
registered to vote except upon written application or electronic application 
pursuant to Section 7-5-185, which shall become a part of the permanent records 
of the board to which it is presented and which must be open to public inspection. 
However, the social security number contained in the application must not be 
open to public inspection.

 (2) Form of application.(B) - The application must be 
on a form prescribed and provided by the executive director and shall contain 
the following information: name, sex, race, citizenship, 
social security number, date of birth, residence address, mailing address, 
telephone number of the applicant, and location of prior voter registration. The applicant must affirm that he is not under a court 
order declaring him mentally incompetent, confined in any public prison, has 
never been convicted of a felony or offense against the election laws, or if 
previously convicted that he has served his entire sentence, including 
probation and parole time, or has received a pardon for the conviction. Additionally, the applicant must take the following 
oath: "I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am 
a citizen of the United States and that on the date of the next ensuing 
election, I will have attained the age of eighteen years and am a resident of 
South Carolina, this county, and of my precinct. I further swear (or affirm) 
that the present residence address listed herein is my sole legal place of 
residence, that I claim no other place as my legal residence, and that, to my 
knowledge, I am neither registered nor intend to register to vote in another 
state or county." Any applicant convicted of 
fraudulently applying for registration is guilty of perjury and is subject to 
the penalty for that offense.

 (C)(1) 
A person may not be registered to vote unless he has provided the county board 
with satisfactory evidence of citizenship.

 (2) A person may provide any one of the 
following to the county board to demonstrate satisfactory evidence of his 
citizenship:

 (a) a current, valid driver's license or 
state-issued identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles on 
or after October 1, 1996 or a current, valid driver's license issued by another 
state if the person has recently taken up residence in this State;

 (b) a legible copy of the person's birth 
certificate indicating the person's birth in the United States;

 (c) the person's current, valid passport 
or a legible copy of the relevant pages in the person's United States passport 
that identifies the p