South Carolina General Assembly
104th Session, 1981-1982

Bill 3496

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               3496
Ratification Number:       443
Act Number                 363
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Related to providing for a barrier-free
                           polling place in every county for use by
                           physically handicapped electors and to
                           establish the criteria and procedures for the
                           use of such barrier-free polling place
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A363, R443, H3496)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 7-7-990 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR A BARRIER-FREE POLLING PLACE IN EVERY COUNTY FOR USE BY PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED ELECTORS AND TO ESTABLISH THE CRITERIA AND PROCEDURES FOR THE USE OF SUCH BARRIER-FREE POLLING PLACE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

County election commission encouraged to make polling places barrier free

Section 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 7-7-990. A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the county election commission is each county of the State is encouraged to make every polling place free and shall provide at least one polling place, free of architectural barriers, which shall be known as the Countywide Barrier-Free Voting Precinct, for use by physically handicapped electors of the county. Such polling place may be within any existing polling place that now is barrier free or that is made barrier free. Any physically handicapped elector, regardless of his place of residence in the county, may vote in this polling place if he meets the following criteria:

(1) Elector either cannot ambulate without the aid of a wheelchair, leg braces, crutches or a walker, or elector suffers from a lung disease to such an extent that he is unable to walk without the aid of a respirator.

(2) Elector has applied is writing to and obtained from the county board of registration thirty days prior to the election a voting registration transfer authorizing the elector to vote at the county barrier-free polling place.

B. For every election the State Election Commission shall furnish to the proper county or party officials a separate roster of those handicapped electors registered to vote at the barrier-free polling place, and the county election officials shall ensure that election managers are designated to staff the barrier-free place. Such roster shall also contain appropriate precinct and district references for each voter when practical and reasonable.

C. The county election commission shall be authorized to use paper ballots in lieu of voting machines in the Countywide Barrier-Free Voting Precinct in those counties where voting machines are used.

D. When the Countywide Barrier-Free Voting Precinct in the respective counties closes, the votes of the Countywide Barrier-Free Voting Precinct shall be tabulated and reported as a separate precinct when other ballots of the county are counted on election day.

E. The provisions of this section shall only apply to elections conducted by the county election commission or county executive committee of a political party and are in lieu of voting by absentee ballot."

Time effective

Section 2. This act shall take effect upon the approval by the Governor.