Judicial Elections, the official text

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

(A95, R98, S336)

AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 2-19-90, RELATING TO JUDICIAL ELECTIONS BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN JOINT SESSION, SO AS TO SET THE FIRST WEDNESDAY OF MARCH FOR THE ELECTIONS OF JUDGES BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 2-19-80, RELATING TO THE JUDICIAL MERIT SELECTION COMMISSION AND NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES, SO AS TO REVISE THE TIME FRAME FOR THE RELEASE OF THE COMMISSION'S FORMAL REPORT AS TO QUALIFICATIONS OF ITS NOMINEES.

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

Judicial elections, time set

SECTION 1. Section 2-19-90 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

Section 2-19-90. The General Assembly shall meet in joint session for the election of judges on the first Wednesday of March at noon in the House of Representatives. The Chairman of the Judicial Merit Selection Commission shall announce the commission's nominees for each judicial race, and no further nominating or seconding speeches shall be allowed by members of the General Assembly. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive a majority of the vote of the members of the General Assembly voting in joint session.

Judicial Merit Selection Commission, formal report release

SECTION 2. Section 2-19-80(E) of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

(E) The commission must formally release its report as to the qualifications of its nominees to the General Assembly not less than twenty-three days before the date the General Assembly conducts the election for these judgeships.

Time effective

SECTION 3. This act takes effect on July 1, 2025.

Ratified the 3rd day of February, 2026.

Approved the 5th day of February, 2026.

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