Martin to call emergency meeting for resolution to let candidates on ballot
Columbia, SC – May 4, 2012 – Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin today announced that he will call an emergency 
meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, May 8, and 10:00 a.m. for the purpose of discussing and passing legislation aimed at allowing candidates affected by the recent Supreme Court decision back onto primary ballots.
A joint resolution introduced by Senator Kevin Bryant and others would give candidate who filed the rest of their paperwork on time to have an additional 12 hour period to provide their Statements of Economic Interest to political party officials in order to complete their filing requirements and preserve a spot on the ballot.
Martin, who supports the Bryant measure, said he will call the meeting in order to get the resolution to the Senate floor as quickly as possible.
“I don’t fault the Supreme Court for their decision, but clearly there is a deficiency in the law if so many people were adversely affected by these requirements,” Senator Martin said. “Our democratic process should not be derailed by what amounts to a technicality. People across South Carolina deserve a chance to vote for those who made a good faith effort to comply with the law, particularly when they had every reason to believe they would appear on the ballot. The General Assembly needs to step in quickly and rectify what I believe would be a real disservice to voters if allowed to stand.”
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