Audit Laws
State Summary
Prior to 2022, South Carolina had no statutory post-election audit requirement. S. 108, which was signed into law in May 2022, requires the Executive Director of the South Carolina State Election Commission to: “establish methods of auditing election results, which may include risk-limiting audits, hand-count audits, results verification through independent third-party vendors that specialize in election auditing, ballot reconciliation, or any other method deemed appropriate by the executive director.” Audits must be conducted prior to state certification following all statewide elections. Based on information available on the State Election Commission website, as of 2022 the state appears to be conducting both hand-count audits of selected precincts and an “automated audit” using ballot images.
Unless otherwise specified, references are to S. 108.
Voting Systems Used
South Carolina uses ballot marking devices and optical scanners for all polling place voters statewide. For the most up to date information please visit Verified Voting’s Verifier.
For an explanation on the types of voting equipment used, click here.
Audit Comprehensiveness
Audits are required following “all statewide elections,” but S. 108 is silent on whether all ballots are included in the audit.
Transparency
Audit reports are required to be published on the State Election Commission’s website. The State Election Commission website also specifies that for hand-count audits: “Election officials publicly open the ballot box for the selected precinct(s) and hand count the votes for the selected office on the voter-verified paper ballots.” However, the statute does not require public observers to be permitted.
Audit Counting Method
Both manual and machine audits are allowed. In practice, based on information available on the State Election Commission website, the state appears to be conducting both hand-count audits and automated audits.
Type Of Audit Units
The website of the State Election Commission specifies that the Commission selects precincts for the hand-count audit in federal and state-level elections and local election officials select the precincts to be audited in local elections.
Contests & Issues Audited
Audits are required following statewide elections and provides the Executive Director with the discretion to require audits after “any other election.” No guidance is provided on the specific contests audited.
The State Election Commission website notes that the Commission selects the offices for the hand-count audit for each county in federal and state elections. Local election officials select the offices to be audited in local elections.
Addressing Discrepancies
No statutory guidance is provided.
For recount laws, see Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota website.
Timeline
Audits must be completed prior to certification by the State Board of Canvassers.
Binding On Official Outcomes
No statutory guidance is provided.
Oversight & Conduct
The Executive Director of the State Election Commission is charged with establishing audit methods. For the hand-count audit, the State Election Commission selects the precincts and offices for each county to audit in federal and state-level elections. Local election officials select the precincts and offices to be audited for local elections.
Ballot Protection
When the canvassing of the votes is completed, the chairman of the managers, or one of them to be designated in writing by the managers, shall deliver to the board of voter registration and elections the poll list, the boxes containing the ballots and a written return of the result of the election in the voting precinct. For more information see, SC Code § 7-13-1150.
Additional Targeted Samples
No statutory guidance is provided.