Voting Information Center

Disabled voters are suing to challenge South Carolina’s restrictions on voter assistance because these laws violate the federal Voting Rights Act and will impede their ability to vote in the 2026 primaries and general election.

On July 6, 2026, the South Carolina Republican Party sued State Election Commission Chairman Robert Bolchoz and other election officials in federal court, demanding that the state government force voters to register with a party to vote in primary elections. Under South Carolina’s existing semi-open primary system, any registered voter may choose to vote in one major party’s primary during an election cycle. But if the state’s dominant political party succeeds in court, it will effectively lock independent voters out of these pivotal elections. The ACLU of South Carolina represents two nonpartisan organizations of military veterans, Veterans for All Voters and The Chamberlain Network, who filed a motion to intervene in the case on the side of the state defendants. Both organizations advocate for open, fair, and transparent elections, and both represent politically independent veterans who would be excluded from voting in primaries if the state closes primaries.