FLORENCE -- Joe Erwin, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, said protection of voters' rights is his primary focus in handling the state District 30 Senate race.

Erwin, S.C. Democratic Party attorney William N. Nettles and three others appeared in federal court in Florence on Friday morning as defendants after being subpoenaed by incumbent Sen. Maggie Wallace Glover's attorneys Brenda Reddix-Smalls and Glenn O. Gray, only to find that no hearing was set.

The plaintiffs were expected to ask the court to overturn the state Democratic Party's invalidation of the June 8 Democratic primary. The party invalidated the primary after third-place finisher Tim Norwood filed a protest alleging irregularities.

The attempt for an injunction will have to wait until after the July 4 holiday because U.S. District Judge Terry Wooten sent word Friday he has not set a hearing date for the case. He told the defendants they should not show up until they receive notice from the court to appear.

Glover said she blamed the ordeal on miscommunication.

"The judge never set a time. He gave Brenda the option of Thursday or Friday, and she took Friday," Glover said. "When she called back that morning, Wednesday morning, the judge asked if all the parties had been served, and he requested they all be served. That is exactly what we did starting Wednesday."

The plaintiffs were waiting for a call back from the judge giving them a time for the hearing, which is why they were not present, Glover said. She said her attorneys can't set a time; they are at the mercy of the court as far as when the hearing is set.

"As bad as I want to go to court, we would never have intentionally not shown up," she said.

While he awaited instruction from the judge about the hearing, Erwin explained his stand, and that of the state's Democratic Party, regarding the controversy surrounding the S.C. District 30 Senate race.

"There is one thing I care about, and that's the protection of every voter's rights," he said. "We heard sworn testimony and evidence of multiple irregularities in the primary."

Erwin also contends that it is important for him and the party to remain neutral in this matter.

"We must protect the interest of voters and ensure our primaries are run with integrity," he said. "When a lot of people have been disenfranchised like this, a lot of black voters, those with dementia, the elderly, there is a problem."

It was the overwhelming feeling of the committee members that those irregularities demanded a new election, Erwin said.

"I feel confident the committee made the right decision," he said. "When the new election is set, we'll have observers and people from the party working the elections."

Total agreement with Erwin's views hasn't prevented Glover from feeling that there shouldn't be a new election held, she said.

She contends that the law says a new election should be the very last resort when there are improprieties.

"The law also reads that if all the called and contested ballots wouldn't change the result of the election, it can not be called," Glover said. "All I'm asking them to do is pull out all the irregularities, then determine who is in second place."

Whichever candidate falls in second place, whether it be Norwood or Kent Williams, a runoff -- not a new election -- must be set, she said.