Restoring Confidence in South Carolina Elections
Restoring Confidence in South Carolina Elections
Latest News from SC Safe Elections
Written by: Laura Downing, Hugh Penri-Williams, CFE, Laura Scharr, Julie Baker
The summary below was written for Oconnee County, but it applies to the rest of South Carolina.
As you can see, the process is complex, involving many people, electronics, and procedures that are neither transparent nor auditable to the people.
Written by: Laura Downing, Hugh Penri-Williams, CFE, Laura Scharr, Julie Baker
The summary below was written for Oconnee County, but it applies to the rest of South Carolina.
As you can see, the process is complex, involving many people, electronics, and procedures that are neither transparent nor auditable to the people.
Congress is responding to calls for greater election integrity and has recently introduced two bills that would revolutionize federal elections.
The SAVE Act, which was passed in May of 2025, was revised to add Voter ID requirements for voting, and reintroduced on 1-29-26. In addition, the Make Elections Great Again Act was introduced on 1-29-26 and codifies similar provisions for proof of citizenship and Voter ID, while also addressing other measures to reduce potential election mail fraud.
Here is a summary of both bills and our take on them.
Congress must pass the SAVE Act ASAP, and if the MEGA bill can be amended, that would be a good step forward in securing elections. Ideally, we must move to the gold standard of elections.
In other words, we must get rid of electronic voting systems! Here is why.
Here is a video that summarizes the two bills, and a chart below that provides a quick reference for their basic components.
| Election Integrity Bills | Save America Act “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” 1-29-26 introduction Effective upon enactment | Requires that non-citizens be removed from voter rolls using the DHS SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) system, the Social Security Administration, and State IDs that confirm citizenship status; must comply with federal requests for information to ascertain citizenship |
| Voter rolls/Database sharing | Preservation of records to include audit records, certification records, chain of custody, incident reports, reconciliation records, return envelopes, tabulation reports, tech records, and vote-by-mail records. | State shall match voter registration data to Motor vehicle data, Motor Vehicle shall match with Social Security data, and State shall receive data from AG for felonies/etc. DHS on citizenship records. May use the SAVE system to confirm citizenship. DHS shall conduct investigations to determine removal from lists if unlawfully registered in States, and AG shall share info of potential fraud with |
| Citizenship to register | Must have proof of citizenship when registering to vote | Must have proof of citizenship when registering to vote |
| Documentary proof | Required to vote in person for federal election. Absentee voting- must include a copy of an eligible photo ID with the request and submission of the ballot | Include documentary proof of citizenship plus last 4 of the SS# and current valid DL or documentary proof of residence in the state If no SS# a unique identifying voter number will be assigned applicant may sign attestation under penalty of perjury with an affidavit. |
| Removal of noncitizens | Upon receipt of documentation that the registrant is a noncitizen | |
| Photo ID | US passport, REAL ID, US Military ID, valid government-issued photo card showing place of birth in the US, government-issued valid photo ID with birth certificate. Must provide a sworn affidavit if you have no proof, and provide other evidence that sufficiently establishes citizenship. | Each state shall at least every 30 days verify eligibility of registrants through all state resources and the SAVE system and remove those who are ineligible by reason of 1) request 2) criminal conviction or mental incapacity pursuant to state law 3) death 4) change in residence 5) citizenship status 6) duplicate registrant States shall remove names of ineligible no later than 15 days prior to each general election. Requires applicants for motor vehicle driver’s licenses in a new state to indicate whether that state is their residence for voting purposes. Citizenship should be indicated on drivers’ licenses There must be a notification to state election officials of those who were recused from jury duty due to non-citizenship |
| Other | Must provide to vote in person, the vote is provisional, but allows a religious objection affidavit. Other than in person, you must submit a copy of a valid photo ID with the ballot or the last four digits of your SS# and an affidavit. Exceptions: active duty absent uniformed services voter who is absent from the US on the date of the election; Disabled or Elderly | Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) at DMVs—where eligible citizens are registered unless they opt out—would be severely limited or gutted in practice, as people would need to present citizenship documents during routine DMV visits, which most don’t bring for license renewals or address changes. The bill amends Section 5 of the NVRA to make DMV license applications subject to the new citizenship proof rules, meaning states can’t process voter registration through DMV without that proof. |
| Record retention requirements | Ballots must be voter-verifiable (NEED TO include amendment that differentiates between a true “paper ballot” and a “Ballot Summary Card” | |
| Abolished barcode tracking for Mail-in Ballots | The requirement is for voter-verifiable paper ballots that allow the use of ballot-marking devices but also provide the option to manually mark each ballot at every in-person location. Can be counted manually, OR by a counting device, OR read by a ballot tabulator. The paper that comes out of a BMD is a ballot summary card. NOT a paper ballot | |
| Ranked Choice Voting | Prohibited | |
| Make Elections Great Again. Introduced 1-29-26. Applies to elections held in 2027 and beyond | Must provide to vote in person, the vote is provisional, but allows a religious objection affidavit. Other than in person, must submit a copy of a valid photo ID with the ballot or the last four digits of SS# and an affidavit. Exceptions: active duty absent uniformed services voter who is absent from the US on the date of the election; Disabled or Elderly | |
| Universal Mail-in Voting | Ballots received by Election Day |
Congress is responding to calls for greater election integrity and has recently introduced two bills that would revolutionize federal elections.
The SAVE Act, which was passed in May of 2025, was revised to add Voter ID requirements for voting, and reintroduced on 1-29-26. In addition, the Make Elections Great Again Act was introduced on 1-29-26 and codifies similar provisions for proof of citizenship and Voter ID, while also addressing other measures to reduce potential election mail fraud.
Here is a summary of both bills and our take on them.
Congress must pass the SAVE Act ASAP, and if the MEGA bill can be amended, that would be a good step forward in securing elections. Ideally, we must move to the gold standard of elections.
In other words, we must get rid of electronic voting systems! Here is why.
Here is a video that summarizes the two bills, and a chart below that provides a quick reference for their basic components.
| Election Integrity Bills | Save America Act “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” 1-29-26 introduction Effective upon enactment | Requires that non-citizens be removed from voter rolls using the DHS SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) system, the Social Security Administration, and State IDs that confirm citizenship status; must comply with federal requests for information to ascertain citizenship |
| Voter rolls/Database sharing | Preservation of records to include audit records, certification records, chain of custody, incident reports, reconciliation records, return envelopes, tabulation reports, tech records, and vote-by-mail records. | State shall match voter registration data to Motor vehicle data, Motor Vehicle shall match with Social Security data, and State shall receive data from AG for felonies/etc. DHS on citizenship records. May use the SAVE system to confirm citizenship. DHS shall conduct investigations to determine removal from lists if unlawfully registered in States, and AG shall share info of potential fraud with |
| Citizenship to register | Must have proof of citizenship when registering to vote | Must have proof of citizenship when registering to vote |
| Documentary proof | Required to vote in person for federal election. Absentee voting- must include a copy of an eligible photo ID with the request and submission of the ballot | Include documentary proof of citizenship plus last 4 of the SS# and current valid DL or documentary proof of residence in the state If no SS# a unique identifying voter number will be assigned applicant may sign attestation under penalty of perjury with an affidavit. |
| Removal of noncitizens | Upon receipt of documentation that the registrant is a noncitizen | |
| Photo ID | US passport, REAL ID, US Military ID, valid government-issued photo card showing place of birth in the US, government-issued valid photo ID with birth certificate. Must provide a sworn affidavit if you have no proof, and provide other evidence that sufficiently establishes citizenship. | Each state shall at least every 30 days verify eligibility of registrants through all state resources and the SAVE system and remove those who are ineligible by reason of 1) request 2) criminal conviction or mental incapacity pursuant to state law 3) death 4) change in residence 5) citizenship status 6) duplicate registrant States shall remove names of ineligible no later than 15 days prior to each general election. Requires applicants for motor vehicle driver’s licenses in a new state to indicate whether that state is their residence for voting purposes. Citizenship should be indicated on drivers’ licenses There must be a notification to state election officials of those who were recused from jury duty due to non-citizenship |
| Other | Must provide to vote in person, the vote is provisional, but allows a religious objection affidavit. Other than in person, you must submit a copy of a valid photo ID with the ballot or the last four digits of your SS# and an affidavit. Exceptions: active duty absent uniformed services voter who is absent from the US on the date of the election; Disabled or Elderly | Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) at DMVs—where eligible citizens are registered unless they opt out—would be severely limited or gutted in practice, as people would need to present citizenship documents during routine DMV visits, which most don’t bring for license renewals or address changes. The bill amends Section 5 of the NVRA to make DMV license applications subject to the new citizenship proof rules, meaning states can’t process voter registration through DMV without that proof. |
| Record retention requirements | Ballots must be voter-verifiable (NEED TO include amendment that differentiates between a true “paper ballot” and a “Ballot Summary Card” | |
| Abolished barcode tracking for Mail-in Ballots | The requirement is for voter-verifiable paper ballots that allow the use of ballot-marking devices but also provide the option to manually mark each ballot at every in-person location. Can be counted manually, OR by a counting device, OR read by a ballot tabulator. The paper that comes out of a BMD is a ballot summary card. NOT a paper ballot | |
| Ranked Choice Voting | Prohibited | |
| Make Elections Great Again. Introduced 1-29-26. Applies to elections held in 2027 and beyond | Must provide to vote in person, the vote is provisional, but allows a religious objection affidavit. Other than in person, must submit a copy of a valid photo ID with the ballot or the last four digits of SS# and an affidavit. Exceptions: active duty absent uniformed services voter who is absent from the US on the date of the election; Disabled or Elderly | |
| Universal Mail-in Voting | Ballots received by Election Day |
This week, both the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee and House Judiciary Committee held important discussions on election-related legislation.
Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration (S. 128):
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on S. 128, South Carolina’s SAVE Act equivalent. Sponsored by Senator Michael Johnson (R-York), the bill requires satisfactory proof of U.S. citizenship—such as a driver’s license indicating citizenship, passport, birth certificate, or other approved documents—when registering to vote in state elections.
This directly supports the 2024 constitutional amendment (overwhelmingly passed by voters) that restricts voting in South Carolina elections to U.S. citizens only. The bill adds enforceable protocols to ensure voter registration complies with this mandate.
After discussion and testimony, the committee carried the bill over. Senator Thompson intends to propose minor amendments to address any potential constitutional issues and position it for stronger passage moving forward.
Closing Primaries: Bills H. 3643 and H. 3310:
In the House Judiciary Committee, a packed hearing addressed H. 3643 and H. 3310, which seek to close partisan primaries by limiting participation to voters registered with the respective party (or declaring independent status).
The discussion drew strong public turnout and passionate testimony. Supporters highlighted that taxpayer-funded primaries should reflect party members’ choices, free from interference from outsiders. Critics raised concerns about forcing people to choose affiliations or advocated alternatives such as party conventions.
Rep. Brandon Newton noted early on the major obstacles:
Committee Chair Jay Jordan recognized the range of views expressed and stressed the importance of reconciliation, revisions, and building a broader consensus before any advancement. It looks like closed primary legislation is dead for this session.
These hearings underscore the active debates around election security and party rules in South Carolina. We will continue to track progress and share more as things develop—whether through committee action, floor votes, or public input opportunities. Your voice continues to play a key role!
This week, both the South Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee and House Judiciary Committee held important discussions on election-related legislation.
Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration (S. 128):
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on S. 128, South Carolina’s SAVE Act equivalent. Sponsored by Senator Michael Johnson (R-York), the bill requires satisfactory proof of U.S. citizenship—such as a driver’s license indicating citizenship, passport, birth certificate, or other approved documents—when registering to vote in state elections.
This directly supports the 2024 constitutional amendment (overwhelmingly passed by voters) that restricts voting in South Carolina elections to U.S. citizens only. The bill adds enforceable protocols to ensure voter registration complies with this mandate.
After discussion and testimony, the committee carried the bill over. Senator Thompson intends to propose minor amendments to address any potential constitutional issues and position it for stronger passage moving forward.
Closing Primaries: Bills H. 3643 and H. 3310:
In the House Judiciary Committee, a packed hearing addressed H. 3643 and H. 3310, which seek to close partisan primaries by limiting participation to voters registered with the respective party (or declaring independent status).
The discussion drew strong public turnout and passionate testimony. Supporters highlighted that taxpayer-funded primaries should reflect party members’ choices, free from interference from outsiders. Critics raised concerns about forcing people to choose affiliations or advocated alternatives such as party conventions.
Rep. Brandon Newton noted early on the major obstacles:
Committee Chair Jay Jordan recognized the range of views expressed and stressed the importance of reconciliation, revisions, and building a broader consensus before any advancement. It looks like closed primary legislation is dead for this session.
These hearings underscore the active debates around election security and party rules in South Carolina. We will continue to track progress and share more as things develop—whether through committee action, floor votes, or public input opportunities. Your voice continues to play a key role!
