South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 5545 — Election equipment

Last action — Referred to Committee on Ways and Means

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed House
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced April 16, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the House.

Prognosis

Stalled 14% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 7-13-1630 SO AS TO PROHIBIT STATE AGENCIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM PURCHASING, LEASING, LICENSING, OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRING ELECTION SYSTEMS OR ELECTION-RELATED EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES FROM COMPANIES OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY A FOREIGN ADVERSARY.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

108 added · 5 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent update to Bill H 5545 adds a new section that prohibits state agencies and local governments in South Carolina from acquiring election systems, equipment, or services from companies owned or controlled by foreign adversaries. This change is important because it aims to enhance the security and integrity of the electoral process by preventing potential foreign influence or interference in elections. By restricting such transactions, the bill seeks to ensure that only trusted entities are involved in managing election-related technologies and services.

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2025-2026 Bill 5545 Text of Previous Version (Apr.
16, 2026) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 5545Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 7-13-1630 SO AS TO PROHIBIT STATE AGENCIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM PURCHASING, LEASING, LICENSING, OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRING ELECTION SYSTEMS OR ELECTION-RELATED EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES FROM COMPANIES OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY A FOREIGN ADVERSARY.
  Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
  SECTION 1.  Article 15, Chapter 13, Title 7 of the S.C.
Code is amended by adding:
      Section 7-13-1630.
(A) As used in this section:
       (1) "Company" means any corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity, including any subsidiary or affiliate.
       (2) "Control" means any corporation, partnership, association, or other legal entity, including any subsidiary or affiliate.
       (3) "Election system," "election-related equipment," or "election-related services" includes, but is not limited to:
           (a) voting machines or a voting system as defined pursuant to Section 7-13-1655;
           (b) ballot marking devices;
           (c) ballot tabulation or vote-counting equipment;
           (d) electronic poll books;
           (e) voter registration systems or databases;
           (f) election management software;
           (g) systems used to transmit, store, audit, or report election data;
and            (h) any component, subcomponent, or service that is integral to the administration of an election.
       (4) "Foreign adversary" means any foreign government or foreign nongovernment person determined by the United States Secretary of Commerce to be a foreign adversary pursuant to 15 C.F.R.
Section 7.4, or any successor regulation.
    (B) A state agency, county, municipality, or other political subdivision of this State may not purchase, lease, license, contract for, or otherwise acquire any election system, election-related equipment, or election-related services from:
       (1) a company owned, in whole or in part, by a foreign adversary;
or        (2) a company that is subject to the jurisdiction, direction, or control of a foreign adversary.
    (C)(1) A vendor seeking to provide any equipment or services described in subsection (A)(3) shall certify, under penalty of perjury, that the vendor is not owned, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary.
       (2) A contract entered into in violation of this section is voidable by the State or political subdivision.
       (3) A vendor that knowingly provides a false certification:
           (a) is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars per violation;
           (b) is subject to termination of any existing contract;
and            (c) may be prohibited from contracting with this State or any political subdivision for a period of up to five years.
    (D)(1) The Attorney General or the State Election Commission may bring an action to:
           (a) enjoin a violation of this section;
           (b) declare a contract void or voidable;
or            (c) seek any other appropriate relief.
       (2) An action brought pursuant to this subsection must be filed in the circuit court of appropriate jurisdiction.
    (E) The State Election Commission may promulgate regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this section.
    (F) This section must be construed in a manner consistent with federal law and may not be applied in a manner that conflicts with any applicable treaty or federal requirement.
  SECTION 2.  (A) An election system, election-related equipment, or election-related service in use or under contract as of the effective date of this section may continue to be used until the earlier of:
       (1) the expiration of the contract;
or        (2) July 1, 2029.
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    (B) The State Election Commission may grant a temporary waiver upon a showing that:
       (1) no reasonable alternative is available;
and        (2) continued use does not pose a material risk to election integrity or security.
    (C) Any waiver granted pursuant to subsection (B) must be reported in writing to the Governor and the General Assembly.
  SECTION 3.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
----XX---- This web page was last updated on April 16, 2026 at 11:02 AM
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Action History

  1. Referred to Committee on Ways and Means

  2. Introduced and read first time

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 169 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (169)

169 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 169 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does H 5545 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 7-13-1630 SO AS TO PROHIBIT STATE AGENCIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FROM PURCHASING, LEASING, LICENSING, OR OTHERWISE ACQUIRING ELECTION SYSTEMS OR ELECTION-RELATED EQUIPMENT OR SERVICES FROM COMPANIES OWNED OR CONTROLLED BY A FOREIGN ADVERSARY.
Who sponsors H 5545?
H 5545 is sponsored by Representative Marvin "Mark" Smith.
What is the current status of H 5545?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced April 16, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 5545?
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