Could a South Carolina school trustee also serve on a political party committee and as a party delegate?

Plain-English summary

In 2018, the Florence County School District Three trustees asked if one person could serve as a school trustee, a Florence County Democratic Party executive committee member, and a South Carolina Democratic Party delegate. The Attorney General concluded that this combination did not violate the state constitution's dual office holding provision. It treated a school trusteeship as a public office, but the described party positions as party roles rather than additional public offices.

The opinion drew a specific boundary: it addressed a party delegate, not a presidential elector. The office said its earlier opinions treated an elector as a public officer and distinguished that role from a delegate representing a geographic area within a party.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2018. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Did the AG consider a school board trustee a public officer?
A: Yes. The opinion said its office had consistently treated a school trustee as holding an office for the dual office holding rule.

Q: Could the trustee also be a county party committeeman and state party delegate?
A: The office concluded that the described positions could be held together because a party officer did not occupy a second statutory or constitutional public office.

Q: Did the answer extend to serving as a presidential elector?
A: No. The office expressly distinguished electors, whom it had previously treated as public officers.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted South Carolina's constitutional prohibition on holding two offices of honor or profit at once and used the state court's definition of a public office. It identified the school board seat as an office, then compared party committee and delegate roles with the distinct role of a presidential elector.

Citations and references

• S.C. Const., art. XVII, § 1A: dual office holding provision quoted in the opinion.
• Sanders v. Belue, 78 S.C. 171, 58 S.E. 762 (1907): public officer definition quoted in the opinion.
• S.C. Code Ann. § 7-9-70 and § 7-19-70: party delegate and elector provisions discussed in the opinion.

Official title

On dual office holding  (member of the Florence School District 3 Board of Trustees and holds two positions within the Democratic Party of South Carolina).

Requester

The Florence School District 3 Board of Trustees.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/december-17-2018/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Florence-Sch-Dist.-3-Bd.-of-Trustees-OS-10312-FINAL-Opinion-12-17-2018-01854063xD2C78-01857429xD2C78.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

ALAN WILSON
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 17, 2018

VIA U.S. MAIL AND FAX 843-374-2946

Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees
PO Drawer 1389
Lake City, SC 29560

Dear Trustees:

You have requested an opinion from this Office regarding whether it would be dual office holding for a person to simultaneously serve as a trustee on the Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees and on both the Executive Board! and as a Delegate for the South Carolina Democratic Party.

LAW/ANALYSIS:

Dual office holding is prohibited by the South Carolina Constitution, which provides:

[nJo person may hold two offices of honor or profit at the same time, but any person holding another office may at the same time be an officer in the militia, member of a lawfully and regularly organized fire department, constable, or a notary public . . . The limitation above set forth does not prohibit any officeholder from being a delegate to a constitutional convention.

S.C. Const, art. XVII § 1A.
The South Carolina Supreme Court explains that an “office” for dual office holding purposes is:

“One who is charged by law with duties involving an exercise of some part of the sovereign power, either small or great, in the performance of which the public is concerned, and which are continuing, and not occasional or intermittent, is a public officer.” Sanders v. Belue, 78 S.C. 171, 174, 58 S.E. 762, 763 (1907), “In considering whether a particular position is an office in the constitutional sense, it must be demonstrated that “[t]he power of appointment comes from the state, the authority is derived from the law, and the duties are exercised for the benefit of the

1 We believe that you are referring to the Florence County Democratic Party Executive Committee and are answering your question on that basis.

Rembert C. DENNIS BUILDING * POST OFFICE BOX 11549 » COLUMBIA, SC 29211-1549 © TELEPHONE 803-734-3970 © FACSIMILE 803-253-6283

Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees
Page 2
December 17, 2018

public.” Willis v. Aiken County, 203 S.C. 96, 103 26 S.E.2d 313, 316 (1943). “The powers conferred and the duties to be discharged with regard to a public office must be defined, directly or impliedly, by the legislature or through legislative authority . . .”63C Am Jur.2d Public Officers and Employees § 5 (2009).

Segars-Andrews v. Judicial Merit Selection Commission, 387 S.C. 109, 691 S.E.2d 453 (2010). Other relevant considerations for an office are:

whether the position was created by the legislature; whether the qualifications for appointment are established; whether the duties, tenure, salary, bond, and oath are prescribed or required; whether the one occupying the position is a representative of the sovereign; among others.

Op. S.C. Atty, Gen., 2013 WL 3243063 (June 17, 2013) (quoting State v. Crenshaw, 274 S.C. 475, 478, 266 S.E.2d 61, 62 (1980)).

Our Office has consistently advised that a school board trustee is an office for dual office holding purposes. See Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 2014 WL 2591468 (May 20, 2014); Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1991 WL 633003 (June 19, 1991). In contrast, we have concluded on numerous occasions that a person may serve as a political party officer without violating the dual office holding provision, because a political party officer does not occupy a statutory or constitutional office within the meaning of the provision. See Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1982 WL 189187 (Feb. 24, 1982); Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1982 WL 189216 (March 23, 1982); Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 2003 WL 23138219 (Dec. 15, 2003); Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 2008 WL 317750 (Jan. 18, 2008); Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1986 WL 289806 (July 29, 1986); Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1978 WL 34722 (Feb. 24, 1978).

Because a political party officer does not hold a public office, our opinion is that an individual can serve simultaneously as a trustee on the Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees, a committeeman on the Florence County Democratic Party Executive Committee, and as a delegate for the South Carolina Democratic Party.

We want to emphasize that our conclusion is based on an individual serving as a delegate for a political party, and not as an elector, since this Office has previously determined that an elector is a public officer. See Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1976 WL 23076 (Sept. 21, 1976). Delegates differ from electors in that delegates represent their geographic area within their political party, while electors cast their state’s electoral votes for president and vice-president after the presidential election is held. Cf. S.C. Code Ann.
§ 7-9-70 & 80 (1976 Code, as amended) (discussing party delegates), § 7-19-70 (1976 Code, as amended) (governing the election of presidential electors). Therefore the role of a delegate is consistent with our prior opinions regarding political party officers, and distinguished from our prior opinions regarding electors. See id.; see also Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1976 WL 23076 (Sept. 21, 1976).

Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees
Page 3
December 17, 2018

CONCLUSION:

Because a political party officer does not hold a public office, we believe that an individual can serve simultaneously as a trustee on the Florence County School District Three Board of Trustees, a committeeman on the Florence County Democratic Party Executive Committee, and as a delegate for the South Carolina Democratic Party. We want to emphasize, however, that our conclusion is based on an individual serving as a delegate for a political party, and not as an elector, since this Office has previously determined that an elector is a public officer. See Op. S.C. Atty. Gen., 1976 WL 23076 (Sept. 21, 1976).

Sincerely,

XN
Elinor V. Lister

Assistant Attorney General
REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:
/
SAD xt _———

‘Robert D, Cook
Solicitor General