Defeated South Carolina Senator Files Election Protest

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Attorneys representing former South Carolina state senator Gerald Malloy have filed a formal protest with the S.C. State Election Commission (SCVotes.gov) citing “unprecedented irregularities.” Their petition seeks to overturn his narrow defeat earlier this month in S.C. Senate District 29 at the hands of Republican farmer JD Chaplin.

“There are a lot of wrong ways to do things right, but there is no right way to do things wrong,” attorney Matthew Richardson noted in the opening line of the protest notice. “If the systemic problems that prevented the accurate counting of all votes cast cannot be corrected and accurate results confirmed, then a new election should be ordered for Senate District 29.”

“Election integrity and accuracy are the cornerstones of democracy,” Malloy said in a statement accompanying the filing of the protest. “It is imperative to understand what happened here because every voter deserves to know their vote is counted fairly and accurately.”

Chaplin defeated Malloy by a mere 278 votes (out of nearly 50,000 ballots cast) – or at least that was the initial tally recorded by county election offices (and reported to the state). A mandatory recount revealed a substantially narrower margin. According to the new numbers, Chaplin received 24,838 votes compared to Malloy’s 24,751 – a spread of just 87 votes.

The outcome of this election has been called into question by alleged irregularities in Lee County, S.C.

Late Monday (November 18, 2024), Howie Knapp – executive director of SCVotes.gov – penned a letter to Lee County’s board of voter registration and elections expressing “concern regarding discrepancies observed in the recount results for the November 5, 2024 election.”

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Knapp’s letter asked local officials to provide him with a “detailed explanation” of what “specific errors or irregularities” led to the discrepancies in the S.C. Senate District 29 race. He also requested a “comprehensive breakdown” of the recount process – and documentation of “all communications, logs and procedures followed during the recount process.

Knapp also asked for “an explanation of why these discrepancies were not identified and addressed prior to certification.”

According to Malloy’s protest (.pdf), submitted to the commission on Tuesday (November 19, 2024), “many material irregularities, errors and problems affected the vote totals and vote counts of this election.” These issues “rendered doubtful the result” of Malloy’s race with Chaplin.

“Changes in the votes counted from the initial count to the recount exceed 350 votes, more than even the initial margin in favor of the declared winner,” the protest noted.

The protest alleged that “in Lee County, ballots cast during early voting were either missing or improperly included in election day voting.”

“Officials left the room unsecured to locate the missing ballots,” the protest claimed. “When officials returned to the room to conduct the recount, additional votes were ‘discovered’ in the election day vote count even though these ‘discovered’ votes consisted entirely of early voting and not election day votes.”

“Lee County really fucked up,” a source close to the situation told this media outlet. “The results (there) could be completely wrong.”

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RELATED | ELECTION IRREGULARITIES DRAW SCRUTINY

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Asked specifically whether they were referring to the initial results from Election Day or the recount, the source indicated both were suspect.

“Everything may be wrong – both the recount and Election Day,” they said.

For his part, Chaplin said Malloy had his chance to challenge the integrity of the vote – and failed to do so.

“Over two weeks of early voting and Election Day, Gerald Malloy raised zero concerns about the voting process,” Chaplin said in a statement provided to FITSNews. “Now, former Senator Malloy is complaining because he lost. We must not tolerate election deniers who want to overturn the will of the people. As the duly-elected and sworn-in senator for District 29, I look forward to serving the Pee Dee.”

Malloy’s protest will be heard by the S.C. Board of Canvassers no sooner than five days – and no later than twenty-five days – after the date of receipt of the protest, per the S.C. Code of Laws (§ 7-17-270).

“The chairman of the board shall provide for and conduct the hearing as nearly as possible in accordance with the procedures and rules of evidence observed by the circuit courts of this state,” the statute dictates. “The chairman shall have authority to administer oaths and subpoena witnesses. Upon the conclusion of the hearing of the protest, the board shall determine all issues by majority vote and forthwith certify the results of the election.”

“The board shall remain in session until a conclusion has been reached,” the statute further stipulates. “All candidates in the protested or contested race shall be immediately notified of the board’s decisions.”

While most appeals of the board’s decision directly to the S.C. supreme court, S.C. Code § 7-17-250 dictates that appeals of S.C. Senate races be heard by that chamber – yet another way in which the state legislature insulates itself from laws which apply to everyone else.

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THE PROTEST…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.

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