Marci Andino
AGO 3169
No. 3169
South Carolina Attorney General Opinion
State of South Carolina Office of the Attorney General
August 20, 2019
Marci
Andino
Executive
Director
South
Carolina Election Commission
P.O.
Box 5987
Columbia,
South Carolina 29250
Dear
Ms. Andino:
We
understand from your letter, you seek and opinion of this
Office concerning "the consolidation of precincts by the
authorities charged by law with designating polling place
locations." Specifically, you ask "whether the use
of a single polling place for multiple precincts is permitted
under state law when there are suitable polling locations
within the individual precincts."
Law/Analysis
Section
7-3-25 of the South Carolina Code (2019) places
responsibility on the State Election Commission (the
"Commission") to insure county boards of elections
and voter registration comply with applicable state and
federal law regarding the conduct of elections. In your
letter, you state the Commission "takes the position
that state law generally requires the designation of one
or more polling locations within a precinct"
(emphasis in original). Courts of this state recognize the
deference doctrine, which provides "where an agency
charged with administering a statute or regulation has
interpreted the statute or regulation, courts, including the
ALC, will defer to the agency's interpretation absent
compelling reasons." Kiawah Dev. Partners. II v.
S.C. Dep't of Health & Envtl. Control, 411 S.C.
16, 34, 766 S.E.2d 707, 718 (2014). We also "defer to an
agency interpretation unless it is arbitrary, capricious, or
manifestly contrary to the statute." Id. at
34-35, 766 S.E.2d at 718. For this reason, as well as those
stated below, we agree with the Commission's
interpretation of state law regarding precincts and voting
places.
Section
13 of Article VII of the South Carolina Constitution gives
the Legislature the authority to "establish or alter the
location of voting precincts in any County." Chapter 7
of title 7 of the South Carolina Code governs polling
precincts and voting places. In this chapter, section 7-7-10
" of the South Carolina Code (2019) provides:
For the purpose of holding any general, primary, or special
election in this State, the voting precincts and voting
places in the several counties of the State shall be
designated, fixed, and established by the General Assembly.
Nothing in this chapter prohibits a county board of voter
registration and elections from establishing multiple polling
places within a precinct, provided that voters are assigned
to these polling places alphabetically or geographically as
determined by the county board of voter registration and
elections and approved by a majority of that county's
legislative delegation. A voter must be notified in writing
of his transfer to a new polling place and the location of
the new polling place.
In
sections 7-7-30 et seq. of the South Carolina Code
(2019), the Legislature designated the precincts for each
county. Article 3 of chapter 7 of title 7 of the South
Carolina Code addresses alterations of precincts. This
article includes section 7-7-710 of the South Carolina Code
(2019), which requires the Commission to report polling
precincts that have more than 1,500 registered electors to
the Legislature every other year. The statute indicates if
the Legislature fails to alter a precinct that has more than
1,500 qualified electors, the county board of voter
registration and elections is required to alter the precinct
to conform to the minimum requirements. In addition, section
7-7-730 of the South Carolina Code (2019) requires the
division of precincts alphabetically "[w]hen a precinct
has more than seven hundred fifty registered electors and
separate managers and facilities are provided within...
