Judge overturns SCGOP decision, ruling Danny Ford can appear on ballot

A judge has determined that Upstate farmer Danny Ford II is eligible to run in the Aug. 11 election, overturning a decision by the South Carolina Republican Party to keep Ford off the ballot.

Ford filed as a candidate in the special Senate Republican primary ordered after Lindsey Graham’s death in mid-July. However, the South Carolina Republican Party determined that Ford did not meet its candidate qualifications and did not certify him for the ballot.

Ford appeared at a Richland County Court of Common Pleas hearing on Aug. 3 in Columbia, where his attorneys argued that he meets the qualifications to run in the special Senate election.

Although Ford’s name did not appear on absentee and overseas ballots, Judge Daniel Coble granted Ford’s request for a preliminary injunction on Aug. 4, restoring the Upstate farmer to the ballot as a candidate in the special Senate election.

South Carolina Republican Party argument

The South Carolina Republican Party adopted a new rule changing who is eligible to run in a Republican primary. Effective July 1, candidates must have been registered with the party for at least 90 days and must have voted in two of the past three statewide Republican primaries. The party argued that Ford did not meet the voting record requirement.

Skyler Hutto, one of Ford’s attorneys, argued that Ford should be eligible to run in the special election since he voted in the June 9 primary and in the June 23 primary runoff, meeting the party’s requirement to vote in two primary elections.

Hutto also questioned whether Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham’s sister, would be ineligible for election under the state party’s new rule based on her voting record. According to Hutto, Graham voted in the June 9 primary, the June 23 runoff, and a 2024 primary runoff. But, Hutto argued the 2024 election should not count because no statewide seat was on the ballot that year.

In 2024, South Carolina voters cast ballots for president, U.S. House seats, state Senate and House seats, circuit solicitors, and local offices.

“There is no statewide office for which Ms. Graham could have voted (for) in that primary,” Hutto said. “If in fact, this 2024 statewide primary runoff is the kind of second vote that is relief upon to qualify this other candidate, we would argue that it does not qualify that candidate under the party’s rules.”

Speaking to reporters after the hearing, South Carolina Republican Party chair Drew McKissick said that a primary and its runoff are considered one election, not two.

“The state election commission is pretty straightforward about that — a primary and a runoff are one of the same,” McKissick said. “Otherwise, they’d be allowing Democrats to vote in this primary.”

In his decision, Coble determined that the South Carolina Republican Party voting record rule lacks consistency in how it is applied and interpreted. He also questioned how Ford was able to run in the June 9 commissioner of agriculture race as a certified Republican candidate, yet was not eligible to run as a Republican less than two months later.

“This court does not castigate the SCGOP or any political party for promulgating rules to enhance the party,” Coble wrote in his decision. “But this court must look to due process in this situation and examine whether it was awarded to the plaintiff.”

South Carolina State Election Commission weighs in

Thomas Nicholson, the defense attorney for the state election commission, said during the Aug. 3 hearing that the state agency would not take a stance on whether Ford should be disqualified as a candidate under the state GOP party rules. He gave Coble an update on where the election commission stands with the upcoming Aug. 11 special election.

According to Nicholson, the commission does not create ballots until the state parties certify their candidates. After a party certifies its candidates, the commission creates ballots with the qualified candidates and disperses them to county election offices. He said ballots started being dispersed as early as July 29, one day after filing closed.

Since Ford was not certified as a candidate by the state Republican Party, his name did not appear on ballots that were dispersed.

“Once these candidates are certified, you don’t delay in preparing the ballots for the election,” Nicholson said.

He explained that about 28 of the 333 overseas special election ballots have already been returned, and 31 of the 1,538 regular absentee ballots have been returned. He added that county elections offices usually start prepping election machines after receiving ballots, but the commission has advised them to stop as the court considers the legal challenge.

“We’ve told them to stop, given what happen today,” Nicholson said. “Should anything change, then we would have to prepare another set of ballots (and) send those out to the counties.”

In his decision, Coble ordered the state election commission to include Ford as a candidate on all Aug. 11 election day and early voting ballots where it is feasible to do so. The judge’s order does not apply to two other candidates — Darius Mitchell and Clark Neilson — who were deemed ineligible to run as Republicans in the special Senate primary.

Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Judge overturns SCGOP decision, ruling Danny Ford can appear on ballot

Reporting by Bella Carpentier, Greenville News / Greenville News

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