South Carolina Advisory Opinions April 23, 2004: Opinion questioning whether the Board of Voter Registration and Elections for Charleston County is required to print and mail new voter registration cards to all registered voters in the County as a result solely of the creation of district lines for new County Council districts where no change of ward or precinct boundaries is involved.

Advisory Opinion Text

Samuel W. Howell, IV, Esquire
General Counsel, Board of Elections and
Voter Registration for Charleston County
Post Office Box 22495
Charleston, South Carolina 29413

Dear Mr. Howell:

In a letter to this office you questioned whether the Board of Voter Registration and Elections for Charleston County is required to print and mail new voter registration cards to all registered voters in the County as a result solely of the creation of district lines for new County Council districts where no change of ward or precinct boundaries is involved. Reference was made to S.C. Code Ann. Section 7-7-960 (Supp. 2003) which provides that

(a) Any elector whose precinct or ward is changed by a change of ward or precinct boundaries must have notification mailed to him by the county registration board reflecting his new precinct or ward.

(b) Any area in the county annexed to a municipality which is divided into wards shall be made part of a ward to which it is contiguous by the county board of registration. In the event the annexed area in a municipality divided into wards contains at least five hundred qualified electors the area annexed shall be made a separate ward which must be given a numerical designation. As soon as practicable, following annexation, the board must mail all registered electors of record residing in the annexed area notification designating the number of the ward, if appropriate, and precinct to which they have been assigned.

A prior opinion of this office dated May 16, 2001, a copy of which is enclosed, dealt with the question of whether a Board of Elections and Voter Registration is required to mail notification cards to every elector after the redistricting of municipal districts, redistricting of House and Senate districts and after County Council redistricting. Reference was made to Section 7-7-960. The opinion concluded that Section 7-7-960

...specifically refers to a change in the elector's "precinct or ward". Thus, the statute necessarily dictates that notification must be mailed to the elector upon a change in

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ward or precinct, but does not require notification upon a change in the elector's district, or redistricting.

Consistent with such opinion, I am unaware of any requirement that the Board of Voter Registration and Elections for Charleston County print and mail new voter registration cards to all registered voters in the County as a result solely of the creation of district lines for new County Council districts where no change of ward or precinct boundaries is involved.

With kind regards, I am,

Very truly yours,

/s/
Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

/s/ _________
Robert D. Cook
Assistant Deputy Attorney General