News & Blog

By the end of the week, the United States Supreme Court will decide two partisan gerrymandering cases. How the Court rules will have huge ramifications for drawing congressional districts after the 2020 Census. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Rucho v. Common Cause, a Republican-favored Congressional plan challenge in North Carolina and Lamont v. […]

Following the Constitution, the United States counts its citizens every 10 years.  This data determines how to divide the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives per state.  Also, the census data plays a central role in allocating billions of federal dollars in federal programs. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument […]

The Supreme Court of South Carolina recently heard oral argument in a case involving the election of Town Council members in the Town of McBee.  Odom v. Town of McBee Election Comm’n & Shiloh Green, No. 2019-000147 (S.C. Sup. Ct. 2019).  Four candidates ran for two seats on town council.  The results were very close […]

As the United States approaches the next decennial census, a legal firestorm has been ignited due to the Trump Administration’s desire to include a question on citizenship.  In mid-January, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled the citizenship question could not be placed on the survey.  See New York v. […]

The United States Supreme Court held Minnesota’s prohibition of individuals wearing “political badge, political button, or other political insignia” at the polls violated the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment

The answer is yes, absolutely! However, employers do not have to give staff time off to vote in South Carolina.  There is no federal law requiring employers to allow their workers time to vote, but 30 states have chosen to grant protection to employees who want to vote during work hours.  For example, in Georgia, […]

By statute, the South Carolina legislature allows for and requires the option for straight-ticket voting.  South Carolina Code §7-13-330 provides the instructions for ballot forms, and South Carolina Code §7-13-1340 (b) requires that voting devices “permit each elector … to vote a straight party or body ticket, in one operation[.]” South Carolina is one of […]

This is a topic that is very familiar to me—I just did it last week when I moved.  It is extremely easy to change your voter registration in South Carolina and there are several ways to do so. First—and what I wish I had known—you can simply change your address with the South Carolina Department […]

A general election is right around the corner in South Carolina.  What ID will I need to bring with me to the polls? South Carolina law provides a number of ID options for electors wanting to cast a ballot.  The default ID to be presented at your respective polling place is your current South Carolina […]