News Releases

Columbia, SC – South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson is calling on the South Carolina Election Commission to refuse to provide the personal voter data requested by the Pence-Kobach Commission

Established to find a pretext to disenfranchise eligible voters, the Kobach Commission has asked for the private, personal information of South Carolina’s citizens and voters.  This is antithetical to the core values of the state of South Carolina.

“Aiding and abetting this attack on our democracy would be wholly detrimental to the general public of South Carolina,” said Robertson, “and providing our voter information free of charge would be a violation of state law.  The South Carolina Election Commission has done an exemplary job administering our state’s elections in a fair and impartial manner.  For the federal government to second-guess our state election officials is a disgraceful insult to their competence and integrity, and goes against the system of state-administered elections established by the U.S. Constitution.  Ultimately, it is up to the Election Commission, and the Governor, to ensure that our private information is protected from this federal overreach.”

The voter information currently available from the Election Commission is only available to registered South Carolina voters and for a fee.  Section 30-4-30 of the South Carolina Code of Laws requires that this fee “must be uniform for copies of the same record or document” except “where the agency determines that waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefiting the general public.”  Waiving the fee and registered voter requirement for this specific request would be clearly contrary to the public interest.

If the Election Commission votes to turn over the information to the Kobach Commission, the Governor’s appointees will be actively undermining their ability to run impartial elections here in South Carolina and unnecessarily forcing South Carolinians across the state to question the integrity of our elected officials.

Robertson concluded, “Henry McMaster and Alan Wilson hate ‘federal overreach’ but refuse to stand up for folks in SC when the federal government comes calling.  Do these folks not remember the Russian hackers who stole thousands of names from the SC Department of Revenue?  Once again, one set of rules and values for the ruling class and another for the people of SC.  Republican primary voters will not be so forgiving.”

Columbia, SC – South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson released the following statement on the results of the special elections in the 5th Congressional District and State House Districts 48 and 70:

“The progress we have made in the 5th Congressional District in such a short time with such limited resources is nothing short of remarkable.  I applaud Archie Parnell for running such a strong and spirited campaign.  While I am disappointed that he won’t be going to Congress, and that Bebs Barron Chorak won’t be going to the General Assembly, the races they have run are a huge first step toward Democratic victory in South Carolina, and I thank them for working so hard and being such strong advocates for the people of their districts.

“I also congratulate the winners in the 5th Congressional District and State House District 48, Ralph Norman and Bruce Bryant.  I encourage them both to put people over partisanship and work across the aisle to improve the lives of their constituents.

“In addition, I am thrilled to congratulate Wendy Brawley on her election to represent State House District 70, and I look forward to watching her carry on the progressive legacy of the late, great Joe Neal.  The voters of District 70 chose wisely, and Wendy will fight hard for them in the General Assembly.”

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Columbia, SC – South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Trav Robertson is calling on Bruce Bryant, the Republican nominee in the special election in State House District 48, to withdraw his support for congressional candidate Ralph Norman over Norman’s attack on first responders suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Norman’s vote to deny state retirement pensions to police officers.  Bryant previously served as York County Sheriff.

“Why is Bruce Bryant a self-hating law enforcement officer?” Robertson asked.  “If he can’t stand up for his fellow men and women in blue, how can we expect him to stand up for the men and women of District 48?  The last thing we need is another state legislator who puts partisanship over people.”

The Democratic nominee in District 48 is Bebs Barron Chorak, an educator who has supervised a seven-county Youth Services program (now Juvenile Corrections) and served as Deputy Director for Programs at Street Law, Inc., a global non-profit organization dedicated to developing classroom and community programs to educate citizens about law and government.  Chorak, a strong supporter of law enforcement, would have voted in favor of the two bipartisan bills that Norman opposed.

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