Your SC politics briefing
Welcome to your weekly South Carolina politics briefing, a newsletter curated by The State’s politics and government team.
Saturday is your LAST day to vote early in South Carolina.
As of Thursday, 433,000 South Carolinians had already cast their ballot, roughly 13% of the state’s total 3.3 million registered voters. By comparison, just over 100,000 people voted early in the June primary.
Polls will open across the state on Election Day at 7 a.m. and close 7 p.m.
If you don’t know who is on your ballot or whether your precinct has changed, make sure you visit the State Elections Commission website before you vote.
SC SCHOOLS CHIEF CANDIDATES SPAR IN LONE DEBATE
In a state superintendent race where candidate qualifications, or the lack thereof, has been a focal point the past seven months, the issue was conspicuously absent from Wednesday night’s debate between candidates Ellen Weaver and Lisa Ellis.
The one-hour debate centered largely on policy and highlighted some of the key differences between the candidates.
Neither the candidates nor the moderators mentioned Weaver’s controversial pursuit of a master’s degree, which state law requires the superintendent of education must possess, focusing instead on issues ranging from book bans to school consolidation.
Weaver, a Republican political insider who last month announced she’d completed her degree requirements, touted her leadership skills, political connections and ability to get things done.
Ellis, a Richland 2 student activities director and founder of grassroots teachers group SC for Ed who is running on the Democratic ticket, stressed her experience in the classroom and the need for the state’s top schools official to understand what’s really happening “down in the trenches.”
On stage, they disagreed most strenuously about education funding, private school choice and hot-button topics like the national debate over parents’ rights and school censorship.
Weaver supports school choice, believe schools are misfunded, not underfunded and thinks parents should have the ability to fight against the “pernicious” ideology of critical race theory and to report inappropriate books in school libraries.
Ellis, on the other hand, opposes any effort to redirect taxpayer money to private schools, blames underfunding for many of the problems plaguing South Carolina schools and denies that teachers are attempting to indoctrinate students by pushing critical race theory or assigning books about race, gender and sexuality.
The candidates are running to replace Superintendent Molly Spearman, a moderate Republican who declined to seek reelection.
Read more: Weaver or Ellis? SC voters to decide new schools chief and direction of public education
ABORTION BILL REMAINS STALLED
A committee of six South Carolina House and Senate lawmakers tasked with negotiating future restrictions to abortion in wake of the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision have yet to agree on a compromise bill.
The group met Tuesday, but failed to reach a consensus on H. 5399 after the only two proposals submitted included bans on abortion at conception, which the Senate’s Republican leader said would not pass the upper chamber.
The conference committee has agreed to return to Columbia Wednesday, the morning after Election Day, to take on the unlikely task of hammering out a compromise just days before the legislative session ends, Nov. 13.
Counting Wednesday, the day after new state House members are elected, legislators will have two days to pass a bill and send it to Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk for his signature. Friday, Nov. 11, is a federal holiday.
The Senate has scheduled session Wednesday at 11 a.m., an hour after the conference committee meets, and the House has scheduled session for Thursday at noon, but will only return if the committee votes on a report and the Senate approves it.
“If the goal is to pass something, I think it has to be very close to the Senate version,” Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said. “If that’s not the goal, then I guess it doesn’t matter what you bring out.”
BUZZ BITES
▪ Need a ride on Election Day? Columbia’s COMET is offering free rides to the polls.
▪ Richland County Council members will see a nearly $8,000 bump in their paychecks next year after a split council gave final approval to raising their own salaries.
▪ Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify before a grand jury in Georgia investigating possible criminal interference in the state’s 2020 presidential election after losing his last-ditch appeal to the US Supreme Court to block a Fulton County grand jury subpoena.
▪ After spending a 13-day stretch campaigning in seven states at the end of October, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn says he’s not conceding a GOP takeover in Tuesday’s election.
▪ Gov. Henry McMaster and Democratic challenger Joe Cunningham have been on the road this week stumping for votes during the home stretch of the election.
▪ South Carolina health officials have no plans to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required immunizations for childcare or school entry, but continue to recommend the shot for the vast majority of people. The agency clarified its stance after Attorney General Alan Wilson released a statement opposing the CDC’s COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for children.
▪ The SC Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative House legislators, has admitted to editing audio that became the basis for a recent Fox News article about critical race theory seeping into the state’s public schools, the Post and Courier reports.
▪ South Carolina state agencies collectively tripled their spending on travel in fiscal year 2022 compared to the year prior, according to a report compiled by the state comptroller’s office.
▪ House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy and Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, will campaign for US Rep. Nancy Mace ahead of her Tuesday election against Democrat Annie Andrews for the 1st District.
▪ SC lawmakers say there’s little desire to discuss changing the state Constitution’s prohibition on same-sex marriage in the event the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide is overturned.
▪ Outgoing Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a possible 2024 candidate, is planning stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina over the next few months, according to POLITICO Playbook.
▪ Republican Congressman Jeff Duncan joined four other members of South Carolina’s Republican congressional delegation sent state Superintendent Molly Spearman a letter demanding she cut ties with the South Carolina Association of School Psychologists after the organization opposed a bill known as the Stop the Sexualization of Children Act.
▪ A Midlands school district has removed a children’s book about Black history and identity from its school libraries after receiving a complaint, and the book will only return to shelves if it is cleared by a review panel. Meanwhile in Greenville, the county council declined to tell the Greenville County Library to remove books dealing with LGBTQ topics from the children’s sections of its 12 locations.
▪ The Greenville County Board of Voter Registration and Elections, which previously had outlawed politically themed apparel in polling places, has reversed the policy — which had run counter to State Election Commission guidance — after consulting with the ACLU.
▪ Gov. Henry McMaster has requested a presidential disaster declaration to assist with Hurricane Ian recovery efforts in South Carolina.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Nov. 5
Last day of early voting
Nov. 8
SC general election
Nov. 9
SC House, Senate negotiators meet on abortion bill, H. 5399, at 10 a.m.
SC Senate returns if conference committee OKs a report on H. 5399, 11 a.m.
Nov. 10
SC House returns if committee OKs a report on H. 5399 and if the Senate OKs the report, noon
Nov. 13
Legislature’s sine die agreement ends
Nov. 14
Judicial Merit Selection Commission public hearings begin
Dec. 6
SC House reorganization session
BEFORE WE ADJOURN
If you’ve been following the saga of disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh and his fall from South Carolina legal royalty, you may have heard that an HBO miniseries about the case was released this week.
The three-episode series, “Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty,” chronicles the legacy of the Murdaugh family and features archival footage, reenactments and gripping interviews with people intimately connected to Murdaugh’s multitude of alleged crimes.
Billed by HBO Max as “intense and full of shocking twists,” the series “questions the unchecked power of privilege – and the trail of death and destruction left in one family’s wake.”
The State’s Ted Clifford was able to preview the series before its public release, so if you haven’t had a chance yet to watch it yourself, he’s helpfully broken down the key takeaways from each episode.
A trailer for the series is available on HBO’s website.
Who pulled together this week’s newsletter?
This week it was reporter Zak Koeske, a member of The State’s government and politics team. Keep up with him on Twitter @ZakKoeske or send him story tips at zkoeske@thestate.com. To stay on top of South Carolina politics and election news, you can chat with us on Facebook, email us tips and follow our stories at scpolitics.com.
