South Carolina H 3398: Tucker Hipps Transparency Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3398 Text of Previous Version (Dec. 06, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3398

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 PERSONS DISQUALIFIED FROM REGISTERING OR VOTING, 
SO AS TO DELETE LANGUAGE DISQUALIFYING PERSONS CONVICTED OF A FELONY OR OFFENSE 
AGAINST THE ELECTION LAWS; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-5-170, RELATING TO INFORMATION 
CONTAINED ON VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS, SO AS TO DELETE THE REQUIREMENT THAT AN 
APPLICANT AFFIRM, AMONG OTHER THINGS, HE HAS NEVER BEEN CONVICTED OF A FELONY 
OR OFFENSE AGAINST THE ELECTION LAWS; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 7-5-185, RELATING 
TO ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION, SO AS TO MAKE CONFORMING 
CHANGES.

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

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

 (B)(1) A person is 
disqualified from being registered or voting if he:

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

 (2)(b) 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.

 (2) Upon release from prison, any disqualification 
pursuant to subitem (b) above is automatically removed.

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

 Section 
7-5-170. (1) 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 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. 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, and location of prior voter 
registration. The applicant must affirm that he is not under a court order 
declaring him mentally incompetent, or 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.

 (3) 
Date stamp voter registration applications. The county board of voter 
registration and elections shall date stamp all voter registration applications 
delivered in person, electronically, or by mail as of the date received.

 (4) 
Administration of oaths. Any member of the county board of voter registration 
and elections, deputy registrar, or any registration clerk must be qualified to 
administer oaths in connection with the application.

 (5) 
Decisions on applications. Any member of the county board of voter registration 
and elections, deputy registrar, or registration clerk may pass on the 
qualifications of the prospective voter. In case of a question of an applicant 
being refused registration, at least one member of the board shall pass on the 
qualifications of the voter. A concise statement of the reasons for the refusal 
must be written on the application.

SECTION 3. Section 7-5-185(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

 (B)(1) 
An application submitted pursuant to this section is effective upon receipt of 
the application by the State Election Commission if the application is received 
thirty days before an election to be held in the precinct of the person 
submitting the application.

 (2) 
The applicant shall attest to the truth of the information provided in the 
application.

 (3) 
For voter registration purposes, the applicant shall assent to the use of his 
signature from his driver's license or