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Article published Jun 18, 2004
3 times a winner: Hawkins gets nod for District 12 seat

ROBERT W. DALTON
and ABIGAIL TAMM-SEITZ
Staff Writers

COLUMBIA -- State Sen. John Hawkins on Thursday was declared the winner of the District 12 Republican primary for the third time in nine days.A panel of more than 30 Republican leaders from across the state rejected challenger Lee Bright's 18-point protest that questioned the Spartanburg County Election Commission's competence. The vote total was not released, but one juror said the decision was "overwhelming" in Hawkins' favor."The process by which we won this election was attacked and criticized and it withstood those attacks," Hawkins said. "The people of District 12 can have faith in knowing the votes they cast counted and that the integrity of the system remains strong."Hawkins was the top vote-getter in the June 8 primary, holding off Bright by 29 votes. A mandatory recount two days later showed Hawkins still as the winner, but by 31 votes.Bright filed his protest on Monday, claiming, among other things, that convicted felons were allowed to vote, that people were allowed to vote who had not signed the roll and that some voters signed the roll for other voters. Bright's attorney, Tim Hurley of Greenville, argued that the Election Commission's "general disarray" resulted in at least 101 votes that should be disqualified and asked for a new election."We had a lot of concerns and I felt like I owed it to my supporters to go through the process," Bright said. "We did all we could to make sure the vote was accurate."Bright said he would explore the possibility of appealing the decision. That appeal would be made directly to the state Supreme Court.Barbara Blanchard, the county's director of voter registration, said she felt "exonerated" by the decision."I think the voters and the rest of Spartanburg County can really appreciate this day and the upholding of the election and their vote," Blanchard said.Bright supporter M.T. Myers testified that her research found seven convicted felons had voted in the District 12 race. Convicted felons are not allowed to vote until they have completed their sentence, including parole.Myers said she took information on more than 100 convicted felons living in Spartanburg County -- Bright volunteer Chris Sullivan said the list came from the state Department of Probation and Parole -- and compared it with information in the county Clerk of Court's Office and the voter rolls. She said she made it through only a third of the list, but found the seven names that matched.Attorney David Tyner, a Hawkins supporter, testified that he researched the seven voters in the State Law Enforcement Division and Westlaw databases, and that six of the seven had no criminal records. The Westlaw database tracks only felony convictions.The seventh voter had only a check charge and paid a $20 fine, Tyner testified.Walter McSherry, a Bright volunteer, testified that he found at least 10 instances where there were more votes than signatures on the roll. But Hawkins attorney Charles Terrini of Columbia produced evidence that some of the rolls indicated that some of the voters who didn't sign voted absentee or curbside.McSherry also testified that there were another 10 instances in which people signed the roll for themselves and for someone else. When Terrini challenged him, McSherry testified that he did not check the signatures against the voter registration files, that it was "obvious" to him as "an average citizen" that the same person had signed the names.In the end, the Republican Party officials who served as jurors decided that Bright had not proven his case.Gary Towery of the Spartanburg County Republican Party said that decisions such as this one are never easy, but that everyone involved "listened to all the presentations and followed the judge's guidance."Bert Campbell of Clemson said the decision wasn't about politics, but about making sure the will of the people was carried out."I don't think that proof was made that there were enough votes that should not have been counted to change the decision," Campbell said.Robert W. Dalton can be reached at 562-7274 or bob.dalton@shj.com.Abigail Tamm-Seitz can be reached at 562-7210 or abigail.tamm-seitz@shj.com.