South Carolina S 109: S.C. Constitutional Carry Act of 2023

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 109 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 11, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 109

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 ADDING SECTION 
7-5-115 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON IS NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE IN A PARTISAN 
PRIMARY ELECTION OR PARTISAN ADVISORY REFERENDUM UNLESS THE PERSON HAS REGISTERED 
AS BEING A MEMBER OF THAT POLITICAL PARTY; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-5-110, 
RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENT OF REGISTRATION IN ORDER TO VOTE, SO AS TO PROVIDE 
THAT A PERSON IS NOT ALLOWED TO VOTE IN A PARTISAN PRIMARY ELECTION OR PARTISAN 
ADVISORY REFERENDUM UNLESS THE PERSON HAS REGISTERED AS A MEMBER OF THAT 
POLITICAL PARTY; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-5-170, RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENTS FOR 
VOTER REGISTRATION, SO AS TO REQUIRE A STATEMENT OF POLITICAL PARTY 
AFFILIATION, IF ANY, ON THE FORM AND INCLUSION IN THE OATH, AND TO REQUIRE THE 
STATE ELECTION COMMISSION TO ASSIST IN CAPTURING THIS DATA; AND BY AMENDING 
SECTION 7-9-20, RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS FOR VOTING IN PRIMARY ELECTIONS, SO 
AS TO REQUIRE REGISTRATION AS A MEMBER OF THE POLITICAL PARTY, AND TO PROVIDE A 
PROCEDURE FOR CHANGING POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION OR NONAFFILIATION AFTER A 
SELECTION HAS BEEN MADE.

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

SECTION 1. Article 3, Chapter 5, Title 7 of the S.C. Code is amended 
by adding:

 Section 
7-5-115. (A) Only an elector 
registered as a member of a certified political party may vote in a partisan 
primary election or partisan advisory referendum of the certified political 
party with which that elector is registered, unless the political party has 
taken action to open its partisan primary election or partisan advisory 
referendum to independent electors unaffiliated with a certified political 
party and has advised the State Election Commission, in writing, not more than 
one hundred eighty days and not less than sixty days in advance of the partisan 
primary election or partisan advisory referendum of that action. In no event 
may an elector who is registered as a member of a certified political party 
vote in the partisan primary election or partisan advisory referendum of a 
certified political party with which that elector is not registered.

 (B) The 
State Election Commission shall assist each county's board of voter 
registration and elections create and maintain a list of all electors 
registered by party affiliation. The State Election Commission shall indicate 
in the state voter file what selection an elector makes.

SECTION 2. Section 7-5-110 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
7-5-110. (A) No A person shall be allowed to may not vote at any in a partisan primary 
election or a partisan advisory referendum unless 
he shall be is registered 
as herein a member of that 
political party as required by the provisions of 
this chapter.

 (B) The State Election Commission shall 
assist each county's board of voter registration and elections with capturing 
the data and maintaining a list of all electors registered by party 
affiliation.

SECTION 3. Section 7-5-170 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 Section 
7-5-170. (1)(A) Written application 
required. - A person may not be registered to vote 
except upon written application or electronic application pursuant to Section 
7-5-185,. which shall become That application 
becomes 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)(B) Form of application. - The application must be on a 
form prescribed and provided by the executive director and shall contain the 
following information: name, sex, race, social security number, date of birth, 
residence address, mailing address, telephone number of the applicant, political party affiliation, if any, and location of 
prior voter registration. The applicant must shall 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 shall 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 on my application is my sole legal place of residence, 
that I claim no ot