On Wednesday, Richland county judge Joslyn Newman heard a motion for
Temporary Restraining Order and Permanent Injunction to halt and essentially
reverse the South Carolina Democratic Party’s (SCDP) decision to deny
certifying Eleazer “Leazer” Carter for candidacy.
Judge Newman reviewed the statute cited by the defendants, the SCDP and
Chair Christale Spain, and ruled that the Carter met the residency requirements
pursuant to the statutory meaning and intent of the elector for voting purposes.
“The Court applied the standards of this statutory law and clearly concluded that I
overwhelmingly met the requirements of the law. Therefore, the act of removing
my name from the ballot violated the law and my right to be equally placed on the
June 11, 2024, Democratic primary ballot,” stated Carter.
Carter also went on to say that he feels that Spain used her personal friendship
with Kimberly Johnson and her father, State Senator Kevin Johnson, as a basis
to remove him from the ballot. “She wanted Kevin Johnson to run un-apposed
(sic) in the primary because the community has become tired of his failure to be
transparent about in his ties and that of his family financially to the local school
district. He has failed to identify his ties in seeking political employment for his
family and close friends here in the Senate District 36 and around the state,”
Carter accused.
House Representative, Fawn Pedalino, also weighed in on the situation. “While I
am not interested in putting myself in the middle of campaigns that don’t concern
me, I am committed to advocating for a constituent's fundamental right to pursue
candidacy for public office. The unilateral selection of candidates by the state
Democratic chair, and having the authority to exclude individuals they deem
unfavorable, raises concerns. The official correspondence submitted to the State
Election Commission lacked substantive justification for denying Mr. Carter's
certification. It is imperative that mechanisms are in place to prevent authoritative
figures from impeding other's participation in the electoral process.”
Early in April, an official challenge was submitted to the SCDP regarding Carter’s
filing for candidacy. This letter was sent and signed by Johnson.
In the letter submitted to Spain, the concern was that state statutes require a
candidate to be a legal resident of the district at the time of filing and it appears
that Carter uses a Clarendon County address during election years while living in
Richland County.
On April 4th, the SCDP Execute Council met in Columbia to discuss the
challenge and candidate certification. Carter, Johnson, and Sen. Johnson
attended this meeting and Carter was asked to submit documentation providing
proof of residency. After providing this documentation, council members, in an 8-
2 vote, advised Spain to certify Carter as a candidate. However, the Chair does
have the authority to make the final decision.
Carter received notification via email on April 5th that he was denied certification
for the Democratic Primary to be held on June 11. In the letter addressed to Howard Knapp, Executive Director of the SC Election Commission, and carbon
copied to Carter, Spain cited SC Code 7-13-40.
The code states that a political party must not certify any candidate who does not
or will not by the time of the general election, or as otherwise required by law,
meet the qualifications for the office for which the candidate has filed, and such
candidate's name shall not be placed on a primary ballot.
Sen. Johnson remains adamant that Carter should remain off the primary ballot.
“The official records of Richland County clearly state that Eleazer Carter is a
legal resident of Richland County. However, he was able to convince the court
that he is a resident of Clarendon. As a result, our team is looking forward to
campaigning in the primary.”
