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Web posted Thursday,
October 7, 2004
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| Only
the Libertarians follow rules
RIDGELAND: Last-minute questions raised in
upcoming Nov. 2 general election.
By Mark Kreuzwieser
Carolina Morning News
It
would just be funny if it weren't Jasper
County.
If an obscure state election law
were strictly followed, there would be only one
party on the ballot for Nov. 2's general election
- the Libertarians.
The Democrats and
Republicans should have registered with the local
clerk of court, according to a little-known state
law, and because they haven't, the Jasper County
Libertarian Party should be the only player on the
ballot. Or, so says county party Chairman Michael
Edward Jones.
Jones says in a letter to
county Board of Elections members that his is the
only party to "file paperwork with the clerk of
court ... thus it follows that, in partisan
elections, only Libertarians may be listed on the
ballot."
Believe it or not, this is true,
Garry Baum, the state Election Commission's chief
public information and training officer, said
Wednesday.
First, though, Baum had to look
up the election law.
"Yes, parties must
certify with clerks of court, but I'm not sure if
it is all that common," he said, adding he didn't
think the situation will cause any problems with
the November elections.
The Nov. 2 ballot
will feature GOP President George W. Bush's
re-election bid against Democratic challenger John
Kerry plus races for the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives.
State election law reads
in part, "All (political party) officers except
delegates shall be reported to the clerk of court
of the county and to the secretary of state prior
to the election. The reports shall be public
record."
Jasper Clerk of Court Margaret
Bostick confirmed that only the Libertarian Party
has registered with her office.
Jones also
complained to the Board of Elections that the
Libertarians were not notified or invited to
Monday's voting machine programming, as required
by law.
"I was not invited to nor informed
of this viewing," he said. "I was therefore unable
to verify the accuracy or veracity of any
Libertarian candidates listed, or even of their
existence on the ballot for Jasper County in the
upcoming general election."
For the record,
voters throughout South Carolina - including
Jasper County - will see on the Nov. 2 ballot
Libertarian presidential candidate Michael
Badnarik and running mate Richard V.
Campagna.
Jasper Voter Registration
Director Jeanine Buckner said that after she
learned the Libertarian Party had not been
notified to the programming session, she invited a
representative in to witness the machine
programming and ballot.
There is no
statewide date for programming machines or
starting absentee voting in person because
counties get their ballots at different dates,
Baum said.
After the machines were
programmed Monday, the Voter Registration Office
began processing requests for absentee voting in
person. The office is in former doctors' offices
behind the former Low Country General Hospital on
Grays Highway/U.S. 278. The office is open 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The
machines, owned by the county, are MicroVote
General Corp.'s Infinity "voting panel," direct
recording electronic voting
devices.
Election results are retrieved
using a personal computer program through either a
direct connection with the machines or a memory
card reader.
The Jasper County Board of
Elections is paying MicroVote technicians $5,500
to set up the county's voting machines and assist
throughout Election Day.
Jasper election
officials experienced problems with the June
primary and runoff elections due mainly to
operator error of the electronic voting
machines.
Reporter Mark Kreuzwieser can be
reached at 726-6161 or
mark.kreuzwieser@lowcountrynow.com
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