Trout attorneys file appeal with Supreme Court

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Selby's attorney, Samuel Harms, called the appeal a "frivolous lawsuit" that would cost the Republican Party at lot of money to defend. He said he sees the appeal as directed at the party, not his client, and said he wouldn't defend the appeal unless the party asked for his help.

"Tony Trout has chosen to sue the Republican Party, and unfortunately he has decided to become a pawn to the Democratic Party interests," Harms said.

Selby said he never would have appealed a Republican Party decision to the Supreme Court. Trout deferred comment to his four attorneys.

Bill Foster, one of the lawyers helping Trout, said Harms' interpretation of the appeal was "dead wrong" and said it was based on Selby's protest, not the party's actions.

"For him to take that position, either he's acting out of deliberate ignorance or this is a ploy to simply gain favorable publicity," he said.

The appeal, filed at 4 p.m., argues that Selby's protest of the June 22 runoff was based on no hard evidence, only speculation.

Among the irregularities he cited were 19 people marked as Democrats in the June 8 primary who were allowed to vote in the Republican runoff and five more who had no party affiliation marked.

"There's no evidence of illegal voting," Trout attorney William Herlong said of Harms' case, adding that Selby's team should have subpoenaed the voters in question if they sought such evidence. "They didn't make these marks; somebody else did."

The voter rolls, he said, aren't enough to prove wrongdoing and aren't enough to throw out an election.

Selby's campaign also identified an apparent felon who voted and someone who might have voted twice — possibly fraudulent votes that Sheriff Steve Loftis said Tuesday will be investigated by the State Law Enforcement Division.

The Trout appeal also said Selby was required under state election law to catch apparent poll-worker errors — such as letting people marked as Democrats vote in a Republican runoff — on the election day.

"We've said all along that once we get in front of a body committed to following the law, we win," said Jim Hennigan, another of Trout's attorneys.

Selby argued and won his case before Greenville County's Republican Party executive committee July 1. Trout appealed that decision to the state Republican Party's executive committee July 10 and again lost. His next avenue of appeal was the Supreme Court.

Foster said he wasn't sure when the Supreme Court would hear the case but said it would likely be expedited due to the short time before the Nov. 2 general election. The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Jeff White.

In a 5:30 p.m. press conference Tuesday, Selby said Greenville County Election Commission records speak for themselves and show at least 26 people voted illegally. Official results showed him losing by an 18-vote margin.

"I would have liked to have seen this go to an election," Selby said. "I am willing to listen to the leadership of the Republican Party."

Anna B. Brutzman can be reached at 298-4394.