COLUMBIA - A House subcommittee voted Wednesday to recommend dismissing Dick Withington's appeal of the District 106 race, but several members of the panel agreed with him that the ballot was badly laid out.

Withington, the Democrat who lost to Republican Nelson Hardwick, said he was satisfied with the outcome because he had his say, and he hopes it will influence future ballot layouts.

The Elections Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee makes a recommendation to the full committee, which in turn sends a recommendation to the full House. It is only the fourth such appeal under a law that makes the House the final arbiter in appeals of House races.

The state Election Commission dismissed Withington's appeal last month.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison, R-Columbia, joined the subcommittee hear-
ing Wednesday and said the panel should summon the state Election Commission to discuss ballot layouts and how to make them easier to read.

The ballot layout was ordered by the state Election Commission based on regulations that require all parties to be placed according to a rotating schedule. On the November ballots, the Democrats were last of eight columns of parties. The Republicans were fifth, reading from left to right.

That meant voters had to hunt for his name and after standing in line for an hour and being rushed to finish, many probably voted straight-ticket Republican because it was easier, Withington told the subcommittee.

But he had no proof of that theory, or that, if true, it would have changed the election results.

Rep. Thad Viers, R-Myrtle Beach, a member of the subcommittee, said if Withington's argument held true, Republicans in Horry County could have said they were unfairly treated by 2000 and 2002 layouts, but most of them won their races.

Viers asked if Withington, who lost with 5,239 votes to 9,958 for Hardwick, could have won if the ballot had been laid out differently. Withington said he thought so, and he asked for a new election.

The two main parties should be in the first two columns and the others, which seldom have any local candidates, should be listed after them, Withington suggested.

Rep. Jim Stewart, R-Aiken, said that, with so many parties to list, "it's going to be confusing no matter how you put it on the ballot."

Subcommittee Chairman Scott Talley, R-Moore, said the problem may be solved when all counties have uniform equipment.

Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, said he thought the ballot was confusing but did not think any other layout would have changed the election results because of Hardwick's margin of victory.

But Rutherford said the subcommittee should work on some recommendations to the state Election Commission "so that people don't have to search for the candidate they want to vote for."