For the general election held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November in each even-numbered year, the members of the county board of voter registration and elections must appoint three managers of election for each polling place in the county for which they must respectively be appointed for each five hundred electors, or portion of each five hundred electors, registered to vote at the polling place.
For primary elections held on the second Tuesday in June of each general election year, the members of the county board of voter registration and elections must appoint three managers of election for each polling place in the county for which they must respectively be appointed for the first five hundred electors registered to vote in each precinct in the county, and may appoint three additional managers for each five hundred electors registered to vote in the precinct above the first five hundred electors, or portion thereof. The members of the county board of voter registration and elections must also appoint from among the managers a clerk for each polling place in the county, and none of the officers may be removed from office except for incompetence or misconduct. All clerks appointed from among the managers must be residents and registered electors of the respective counties in which they are appointed to work or in an adjoining county.
For all other primary, special, or municipal elections, the authority charged by law with conducting the primary, special, or municipal elections must appoint three managers of election for the first five hundred electors registered to vote in each precinct in the county, municipality, or other election district and one additional manager for each five hundred electors registered to vote in the precinct above the first five hundred electors. The authority responsible by law for conducting the election must also appoint from among the managers a clerk for each polling place in a primary, special, or municipal election. All clerks appointed from among the managers must be residents and registered electors of the respective counties in which they are appointed to work or in an adjoining county.
Forty-five days prior to any primary, except municipal primaries, each political party holding a primary may submit to the county board of voter registration and elections a list of prospective managers for each precinct. The county board of voter registration and elections must appoint at least one manager for each precinct from the list of names submitted by each political party holding a primary. However, the county board of voter registration and elections may refuse to appoint any prospective manager for good cause.
No person may be appointed as a manager in a primary, general, or special election who has not completed a training program approved by the State Election Commission concerning his duties and responsibilities as a poll manager and who has not received certification of having completed the training program. The training program and the issuance of certification must be carried out by the county board of voter registration and elections. After their appointment, the managers and clerks must take and subscribe, before any officer authorized to administer oaths, the following oath of office prescribed by Section 26 of Article III of the Constitution: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified, according to the Constitution of this State, to exercise the duties of the office to which I have been appointed, and that I will, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties thereof, and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of this State and of the United States. So help me God".
The oath must be immediately filed in the office of the clerk of court of common pleas of the county in which the managers and clerks are appointed, or if there is no clerk of court, in the office of the Secretary of State. Before opening the polls, the managers of election must take and subscribe the oath provided for in Section 7-13-100. Upon the completion of the canvassing of votes, this oath must be filed with the members of the county board of voter registration and elections along with the ballots from that election precinct.
HISTORY: 1996 Act No. 465, Section 4, eff August 21, 1996; 2019 Act No. 54 (H.3035), Section 1, eff May 16, 2019.
Effect of Amendment
2019 Act No. 54, Section 1, in the first and second undesignated paragraphs, added the third sentences, providing that clerks appointed from among the managers for each polling place must be a resident and registered elector of the respective county in which they are appointed to work or in an adjoining county.
Structure South Carolina Code of Laws
Chapter 13 - Conduct Of Elections
Section 7-13-20. Time of general election for certain county officers.
Section 7-13-25. Early voting.
Section 7-13-30. Time of election of probate judges.
Section 7-13-35. Notice of general, municipal, special, and primary elections.
Section 7-13-45. Acceptance of filings.
Section 7-13-50. Second and other primaries.
Section 7-13-60. Hours polls open.
Section 7-13-72. Managers of election.
Section 7-13-80. Organization of voter registration and elections; managers and clerks; oaths.
Section 7-13-100. Managers shall take oath before opening polls.
Section 7-13-110. Residency requirements of chairmen, clerks, and managers of elections.
Section 7-13-120. Candidates and their relatives may not be managers or clerks.
Section 7-13-140. Maintenance of order; police powers of managers.
Section 7-13-150. Penalty for failure to assist in maintaining order.
Section 7-13-160. Peace officers shall enter polling place only on request or to vote.
Section 7-13-170. Procedure when managers fail to attend, take charge of, or conduct election.
Section 7-13-180. Posting proposed constitutional amendments at polling place.
Section 7-13-190. Special elections to fill vacancies in office.
Section 7-13-310. Kinds of general election ballots; different colored paper to be used.
Section 7-13-315. Joint election of Governor and Lieutenant Governor; single vote.
Section 7-13-320. Ballot standards and specifications.
Section 7-13-325. Use of candidate's given name, derivative of, or nickname on ballot.
Section 7-13-330. Form of ballot; instructions.
Section 7-13-335. Arrangement of names on certain ballots.
Section 7-13-340. Printing and distribution of ballots.
Section 7-13-350. Certification of candidates; verification of qualifications.
Section 7-13-351. Nominees by petition.
Section 7-13-360. Place on ballot for write-in names.
Section 7-13-370. Death, withdrawal, or disqualification of candidate after name printed on ballot.
Section 7-13-380. Reprinting ballots to delete name of deceased or withdrawn candidate is optional.
Section 7-13-390. Limitations on withdrawal of candidacy.
Section 7-13-400. Form of ballot when questions are submitted.
Section 7-13-410. Ballots where both statewide and local constitutional amendments are submitted.
Section 7-13-420. Oath of printer of ballots and assistants.
Section 7-13-460. Use of paper ballots.
Section 7-13-610. Ballot specifications; separate ballots for each party.
Section 7-13-611. Arrangement of official county and state primary ballots.
Section 7-13-720. Oath of voter.
Section 7-13-730. Delivery and marking of ballot; deposit into ballot box.
Section 7-13-780. Designation of voters who may receive assistance.
Section 7-13-790. Substitute for marred or defaced ballot.
Section 7-13-800. Write-ins to be in handwriting of voter or authorized manager.
Section 7-13-810. Prevention of illegal voting or taking too much time; challenging voters.
Section 7-13-820. Voting by person whose name is not on registration book.
Section 7-13-825. Location of requirements to challenge a ballot.
Section 7-13-830. Procedure when voter challenged.
Section 7-13-840. Ballot boxes; number, location, construction, color, labeling.
Section 7-13-850. Closing polls; voters waiting may vote.
Section 7-13-860. Watchers; appointment, qualifications, identification, and conduct.
Section 7-13-1010. Additional oath of voters.
Section 7-13-1020. Absentee voting not permitted in primaries; exceptions.
Section 7-13-1030. Voting by National Guard when on duty.
Section 7-13-1040. No person may vote in more than one primary on same day.
Section 7-13-1110. Counting ballots and declaration of result; volunteer personnel may assist.
Section 7-13-1120. Disposition of improperly marked ballots.
Section 7-13-1130. Disposition of ballots found in wrong box and ballots folded together.
Section 7-13-1140. Procedure when too many ballots found in box or too many votes tabulated.
Section 7-13-1160. Reporting of election results to State Election Commission.
Section 7-13-1170. Ordering of new election by Governor.
Section 7-13-1340. Requirements for vote recorders or optical scan voting devices.
Section 7-13-1350. Payment for vote recorders.
Section 7-13-1360. Form and contents of ballot labels; primary elections.
Section 7-13-1370. Ballot cards.
Section 7-13-1371. Ballot cards used in conjunction with optical scanning device; instructions.
Section 7-13-1380. Write-in votes.
Section 7-13-1400. Delivery of vote recorders; duties of officials at polling places.
Section 7-13-1410. Duties of officials after closing of polls; review of ballots; duplicate ballots.
Section 7-13-1420. Observation by poll watchers after polls close.
Section 7-13-1440. Witnesses are to observe at counting station.
Section 7-13-1450. Public display of vote recorders preceding election.
Section 7-13-1460. Use of paper ballots where use of vote recorders is not possible or practicable.
Section 7-13-1470. Procedure when vote recorder becomes out of order.
Section 7-13-1480. Custody, storage, and care of vote recorders.
Section 7-13-1490. Regulations, instructions, and forms.
Section 7-13-1500. Oath of person preparing or operating tabulating devices.
Section 7-13-1610. State Board of Voting Machine Commissioners.
Section 7-13-1620. Voting system approval process.
Section 7-13-1640. Voting machine requirements.
Section 7-13-1650. Experimental use of voting machines.
Section 7-13-1655. "Voting system" defined; State Election Commission duties.
Section 7-13-1670. Demonstrations with machines for instruction of voters.
Section 7-13-1680. Number of voting machines; type and use; repair; custody.
Section 7-13-1690. Employment and qualifications of custodians of voting machines.
Section 7-13-1710. Voting machine ballots; arrangement of nominations.
Section 7-13-1720. Unopposed candidates in primaries.
Section 7-13-1730. Use of separate ballots on constitutional amendments and other public measures.
Section 7-13-1740. Sample or instruction ballots.
Section 7-13-1780. Placement of voting machines in polling places.
Section 7-13-1790. Lights and screens.
Section 7-13-1810. Instructions of voters by model machine at polling place.
Section 7-13-1820. Persons within guard rail; time permitted voters to vote.
Section 7-13-1830. Instruction after voter has entered machine.
Section 7-13-1840. Assistance may be given to voters.
Section 7-13-1850. Write-in ballots.
Section 7-13-1860. Duty to protect machines against injury.
Section 7-13-1870. Procedure when voting machine becomes inoperative.
Section 7-13-1880. Canvass and return of vote; return of provisional and failsafe ballots.
Section 7-13-1900. Use of voting machines for primary elections.
Section 7-13-1910. Possession of voting machine key by unauthorized person.
Section 7-13-1920. Tampering with voting machine.
Section 7-13-1930. Other provisions of this Title applicable to use of voting machines.
Section 7-13-2120. Constitutional Ballot Commission.
Section 7-13-2130. Jurisdiction of proceedings challenging explanations.