Did you know that all 124 seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives are up for election on November 3?
State-level races matter. The leaders we choose will write laws that affect our reproductive rights, immigrants’ rights, voting rights, and more. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to research candidates' positions.
That's why we recently sent a questionnaire to every candidate who filed to run for a State House seat. Here's what we’re asking them:
- Would you support redrawing South Carolina’s electoral maps in order to gerrymander districts for partisan advantage or to weaken the voting power of particular communities?
- Should private political parties get to decide who is allowed to vote in state-administered primary elections?
- Would you vote for legislation that further restricts access to abortion in South Carolina?
- Should the state require all South Carolina law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE and participate in immigration enforcement?
- Should the state continue to detain and incarcerate minors for nonviolent offenses that are only illegal because of the person's age, such as truancy or running away from home?
- Would you vote to cut state funding for public schools or public libraries because they make available books that some state officials or parents believe are inappropriate for minors, including books with LGBTQ themes or characters?
Here at the ACLU of South Carolina, we do not endorse candidates. We won't tell you how to vote in this election or any election. What we will do is provide candidates' responses (or non-responses) to these simple questionson our website.
If you are in contact with candidates in your district and want to nudge them to fill out the questionnaire, we'd appreciate the help.
In the meantime, here are three things you can do to get ready for the November 3 election:
Check your voter registration. South Carolina routinely removes voters from its rolls. Go to scvotes.gov today to check your status and register if you haven’t already. October 2 is the in-person registration deadline for this election.
Save the Election Protection Hotline number in your phone. If you have questions about the voting process, if you run into problems voting, or if you experience voter intimidation at the polls, call or text 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) for assistance in English or 888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) for assistance in Spanish. Election experts are ready to help.
Know your voting rights. Our Voting Information Center has details on photo ID requirements, your rights at the polls, and more.
