South Carolina 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee

H 3643 — Voter registration, party affiliation

Last action — Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: J.E.Johnson

  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 December 12, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

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

Prognosis

Stalled 24% · 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.

  • 23 sponsors

    23 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 7-5-200 SO AS TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, PROVIDE THAT ONLY ELECTORS REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A CERTIFIED POLITICAL PARTY OR AS UNAFFILIATED FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME MAY PARTICIPATE IN A PARTISAN PRIMARY OR ADVISORY REFERENDUM HELD BY THAT PARTY, AND TO ESTABLISH PROCESSES BY WHICH ELECTORS REGISTER OR BECOME REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A POLITICAL PARTY; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 7-5-170 AND 7-5-185, BOTH RELATING TO APPLICATIONS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION, BOTH SO AS TO INCLUDE INFORMATION REGARDING AN APPLICANT'S POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-11-15, RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS TO RUN AS A CANDIDATE IN GENERAL ELECTIONS, SO AS TO SHORTEN THE CANDIDATE FILING PERIOD, TO REQUIRE ALL CANDIDATES FROM EACH POLITICAL PARTY IN THIS STATE TO PAY A FILING FEE, AND TO AUTHORIZE POLITICAL PARTIES TO CHARGE A CERTIFICATION FEE TO ALL CANDIDATES; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-11-210, RELATING TO FILING OF PARTY PLEDGES BY CANDIDATES, SO AS TO CHANGE THE DATE BY WHICH A PARTY PLEDGE MUST BE FILED; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 7-13-40, RELATING TO THE CERTIFICATION OF NAMES BY A POLITICAL PARTY TO BE PLACED ON PRIMARY BALLOTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ONLY PERSONS WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN A POLITICAL PARTY'S RECENT STATEWIDE PRIMARIES AND ARE REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH THE PARTY FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPEAR ON THE BALLOT FOR THAT PARTY'S PARTISAN PRIMARY UNLESS THE PARTY HAS TAKEN ACTION TO WAIVE THESE REQUIREMENTS.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

15 added · 15 removed

Plain-language change summary

The recent changes to Bill H 3643 clarify the eligibility requirements for candidates wishing to appear on the ballot in a political party's primary. Specifically, candidates must have voted in two of the last three statewide primaries for that party and be affiliated with the party at least 45 days before candidate filing opens. Additionally, the party's state executive committee can grant waivers or allow unaffiliated candidates to participate if they decide to adjust their rules ahead of time. This matters because it influences who can run for office within parties and may affect the diversity of candidates in elections.

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Previous
Latest
2025-2026 Bill 3643 Text of Previous Version (Feb.
2025-2026 Bill 3643 Text of Previous Version (Dec.
05, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 3643Indicates Matter StrickenIndicates New Matter(Text matches printed bills.
12, 2024) - South Carolina Legislature Online South Carolina General Assembly126th Session, 2025-2026Bill 3643Indicates 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 7-5-200 SO AS TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, PROVIDE THAT ONLY ELECTORS REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A CERTIFIED POLITICAL PARTY OR AS UNAFFILIATED FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME MAY PARTICIPATE IN A PARTISAN PRIMARY OR ADVISORY REFERENDUM HELD BY THAT PARTY, AND TO ESTABLISH PROCESSES BY WHICH ELECTORS REGISTER OR BECOME REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A POLITICAL PARTY;
Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)                 A bill   TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 7-5-200 SO AS TO AMONG OTHER THINGS, PROVIDE THAT ONLY ELECTORS REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A CERTIFIED POLITICAL PARTY OR AS UNAFFILIATED FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME MAY PARTICIPATE IN A PARTISAN PRIMARY OR ADVISORY REFERENDUM HELD BY THAT PARTY, AND TO ESTABLISH PROCESSES BY WHICH ELECTORS REGISTER OR BECOME REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A POLITICAL PARTY;
----XX---- This web page was last updated on February 05, 2025 at 01:42 PM
----XX---- This web page was last updated on December 12, 2024 at 04:52 PM
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Action History

  1. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: J.E.Johnson

  2. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Hager, Willis, Brittain, Pope, Holman, Ligon, Wooten, Bailey, Hardee, McGinnis, Bustos, Montgomery, T.Moore, Lawson, Long, Hixon, Schuessler, Forrest

  3. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Hartnett, C.Mitchell, Oremus, Hartz, Whitmire, Duncan, Haddon

  4. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Terribile

  5. Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Erickson, Bradley, Beach, Kilmartin, White

  6. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Wooten, J.E.Johnson

  7. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Schuessler

  8. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Duncan

  9. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Ligon

  10. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Whitmire, Burns, Terribile

  11. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: B.J.Cox, Guest

  12. Scrivener's error corrected

  13. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: T.Moore, Montgomery, Hardee, Wickensimer, Beach, White, Erickson, Bradley, C.Mitchell

  14. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Bustos, Hixon, Hartz, Oremus

  15. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Lawson, Hager, Crawford, Bailey, Gagnon, Hartnett, McGinnis, M.M.Smith, Haddon, Neese, Teeple, Forrest, Willis, Rankin, Holman, McCravy, Gibson, Brittain, Guffey, Sessions, B.L.Cox

  16. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Kilmartin

  17. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Landing

  18. Member(s) request name added as sponsor: Davis

  19. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  20. Introduced and read first time

  21. Referred to Committee on Judiciary

  22. Prefiled

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

23 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 147 not signed on

Sponsors (23)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (147)

147 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 147 →

"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 3643 do?
A BILL TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ADDING SECTION 7-5-200 SO AS TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, PROVIDE THAT ONLY ELECTORS REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A CERTIFIED POLITICAL PARTY OR AS UNAFFILIATED FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME MAY PARTICIPATE IN A PARTISAN PRIMARY OR ADVISORY REFERENDUM HELD BY THAT PARTY, AND TO ESTABLISH PROCESSES BY WHICH ELECTORS REGISTER OR BECOME REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH A POLITICAL PARTY; BY AMENDING SECTIONS 7-5-170 AND 7-5-185, BOTH RELATING TO APPLICATIONS FOR VOTER REGISTRATION, BOTH SO AS TO INCLUDE INFORMATION REGARDING AN APPLICANT'S POLITICAL PARTY AFFILIATION; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-11-15, RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS TO RUN AS A CANDIDATE IN GENERAL ELECTIONS, SO AS TO SHORTEN THE CANDIDATE FILING PERIOD, TO REQUIRE ALL CANDIDATES FROM EACH POLITICAL PARTY IN THIS STATE TO PAY A FILING FEE, AND TO AUTHORIZE POLITICAL PARTIES TO CHARGE A CERTIFICATION FEE TO ALL CANDIDATES; BY AMENDING SECTION 7-11-210, RELATING TO FILING OF PARTY PLEDGES BY CANDIDATES, SO AS TO CHANGE THE DATE BY WHICH A PARTY PLEDGE MUST BE FILED; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 7-13-40, RELATING TO THE CERTIFICATION OF NAMES BY A POLITICAL PARTY TO BE PLACED ON PRIMARY BALLOTS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT ONLY PERSONS WHO HAVE PARTICIPATED IN A POLITICAL PARTY'S RECENT STATEWIDE PRIMARIES AND ARE REGISTERED AS AFFILIATED WITH THE PARTY FOR A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPEAR ON THE BALLOT FOR THAT PARTY'S PARTISAN PRIMARY UNLESS THE PARTY HAS TAKEN ACTION TO WAIVE THESE REQUIREMENTS.
Who sponsors H 3643?
H 3643 is sponsored by Representative Brandon Newton, Representative Donald G. "Don" Chapman, Representative Bill Taylor, Representative Phillip Bowers, Representative Richard Blake Sanders, Representative Sylleste H. Davis, Representative Kathy Landing, Representative Heather Ammons Crawford, Representative Craig A. Gagnon, Representative Mike M. Neese, Representative Luke S. Rankin, Representative John R. McCravy III, Representative Daniel Gibson, Representative Brandon Guffey, Representative Heath Sessions, Representative Brandon L. Cox, Representative Christopher R. "Chris" Hart, Representative Paul B. Wickensimer, Representative Thomas Duval "Val" Guest, Jr., Representative James Mikell "Mike" Burns, Representative James E. Teeple, and Representative Marvin "Mark" Smith.
What is the current status of H 3643?
This bill is in committee in the House. Introduced December 12, 2024. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track H 3643?
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