S.C. To Protect Its Early Primary Status

With Arizona officials announcing they will move their Republican primary into February, South Carolina's party leaders say they will do what it takes to protect the Palmetto State's vital electoral role.

S.C. Republican Party Chairman Chad Connelly said Tuesday morning he has the authority to unilaterally pick the date without having to request approval from someone else.

And the state will be protecting its status on the primary calendar, which currently begins with Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. The four states are the only ones approved by the national Republican Party to hold primaries before March.

Arizona appears to be planning a Feb. 28 primary, which would fall on the same date as South Carolina's. And Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer considered going even earlier than that, acording to the Arizona Republic.

"I'm one of those people who believe the rules are the rules," Connelly said.

Connelly said he has met with GOP leaders in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada to stand together and adjust their dates when necessary.

And Connelly says he's working with Florida so there isn't any wrangling over a Sunshine State move.

"I'm really just trying to discourage all the drama," he said, suggesting the focus should instead be on challenging Obama.

As for the threat of more states moving ahead on the calendar, Connelly says it doesn't benefit the candidates or the voters if primaries have to move into late December or early January.

"You'd have Iowa and New Hampshire voters heading out in the dead of winter to vote — candidates going door to door over the holidays. I don't think people are tuned in at that point," Connelly said.

Above and beyond what happens in other states the effect on South Carolina could be significant, according to Rick Beltram, former GOP Chair in Spartanburg.

Should the date be moved to January, the state GOP would have less time to raise the necessary funds, not a small detail since earlier this year the state struck funding of the primary. 

The costs to run the primary are estimated at between $1 and $1.5 million. The last time the state removed funding was in 2000 and Beltran was in the party chair in Spartanburg at that time.

“The infrastructure is not nearly as strong as it was back then,” Beltram said.

Beltram said money needs to be raised to help certify workers to operate electronic voting machines, to find volunteers and to pay for lawsuits.

Beltram went on to say that as an open voting state the election can be influenced by voters who aren’t even registered Republicans, and lawsuits—frivolous or otherwise—are a matter of course.

An advantage South Carolina has to other states is that the primary date is controlled by the party. Other states may have to get their dates verified through the legislature or the Secretary of State, but here, the party chairman can select the date at 11:59 on the day of the deadline.

Greenville County is already preparing for a possible date change.

“We always knew the February date might become a January date,” said Conway Belangia, director of elections and voter registration for the county. 

Belangia said the state requires a 60-day notice, but 90 days are what he would like to prepare. Sixty days of preparation would cut things close Belangia said.

“We have 1,0000 voting machines that need to be checked two and three times for accuracy," he said.

Belangia also pointed out the absentee ballots must be mailed no later than 45 days prior to election.

“We need time to build out our databases,” he said.

The State Election Commission has indicated that a date would be confirmed by Oct. 1, according to Belangia who added that the state has been in communication with the GOP regarding the setting of a date.

Even if the decision has not been made by October, the election will happen. “As long as we know by Dec. 1, we can put on the election,” Bellagia said.