We didn't endorse David Engelman for the Charleston County School Board in last November's election. We thought one of his opponents, Theron Snype, was the better candidate. But the majority of the voters gave the nod to Mr. Engelman amid plenty of publicity that his wife, Sandi, already was a member of the board. If the voters want a husband and wife on this or any other elective body, that should be their right. That's why the House of Representatives should quickly shelve a bill that would prohibit a husband and wife from serving simultaneously on a school board.

The bill, whose primary sponsor is Charleston Rep. Floyd Breeland, clearly was prompted by David Engelman's victory. It doesn't, for example, attempt to prohibit such a duo from being elected to the House of Representatives or the Senate, or even to a city council.

We're not saying it's a good idea to have elected bodies filled with members of the same family. But the decision should be left up to the voters. Both Engelmans won countywide elections for their West Ashley seats. If the constituency that elected Sandi Engelman to the board didn't want her spouse to serve, it had the opportunity to say so.

In our news account Monday, a constitutional law professor at the University of South Carolina questioned why the bill would only single out two adults based on their marital status. Why not, he questioned, have it apply to all family members as do the nepotism laws? It should be noted, however, that nepotism laws were designed as a protection to the public to keep elected officials from filling appointive posts with family members. This is an instance where the voters themselves, not an elected official, made the decision. That's why the elected officials should keep hands off.