Did a Sunday move South Carolina's 2008 candidate filing deadline to Monday?

Plain-English summary

In 2008, both dates in South Carolina's candidate filing window for party-primary and convention nominations fell on Sundays. The Election Commission asked whether the closing date moved under Rule 6 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. The AG concluded that it did not: the window fixed by S.C. Code Ann. § 7-11-15 remained noon March 16 to noon March 30.

The opinion explained that the civil rule governed court proceedings, not election filing. Section 7-11-15 itself gave political party committees an express following-day extension for a different step: forwarding candidates' statements to election commissions when their tenth day fell on a weekend or holiday. It gave no corresponding extension to the candidate's own filing window. The AG found no prohibition on the relevant committees receiving statements on Sunday. The dates and procedure described are those of the 2008 statute.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2008. 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: Could a 2008 candidate file on Monday because March 30 fell on Sunday? A: The AG said the statutory candidate filing period still ended at noon on March 30. It did not extend that deadline to Monday.

Q: Did the civil court rule for weekend deadlines apply to candidate filing? A: No. The opinion read that rule as governing civil court procedure, not the election filing window.

Q: What did the statute say about the party committees’ later filing deadline? A: When the tenth day fell on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the statute required the committees to file the statements by noon the following day. The candidate filing clause had no such exception.

Background and statutory framework

The AG contrasted two parts of § 7-11-15: the fixed period for candidates to file statements with party committees, and a later deadline for those committees to deliver the statements to election officials. The statute extended only the latter when its last day fell on a weekend or holiday. The opinion also cited the mandatory character of candidate filing deadlines under election law.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 7-11-15: the candidate and party committee filing provisions interpreted in the opinion.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/february-19-2008/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/andino-m-os-8544-2-19-08-filing-statement-of-intent.pdf

Original opinion text

February 19, 2008

Marci Andino, Executive Director
South Carolina Election Commission
Post Office Box 5987
Columbia, South Carolina 29250
Dear Ms. Andino:
In a letter to this office you referenced S.C. Code Ann. § 7-11-15 which states that
[i]n order to qualify as a candidate to run in the general election, all candidates seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention must file a statement of intention of candidacy between noon on March sixteenth and noon on March thirtieth as provided in this section. You noted that there is no exception in this provision should March 16th or March 30th fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. You have questioned whether filing is to be opened on March 16th and close on March 31st at noon, both dates of which are Sundays in 2008, in light of Rule 6 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure. Such rule states in part that
[i]n computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by these rules, by order of court, or by any applicable statute, the day of the act, event or default after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or a State or Federal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is neither a Saturday, Sunday nor such holiday.... It does not appear that such Rule would be applicable to your situation. As noted in Rule 1 of these Rules,
[t]hese rules govern the procedure in all South Carolina courts in all suits of a civil nature whether cognizable as cases at law or in equity, with the exceptions stated in Rule 81.

Ms. Andino
Page 2
February 19, 2008
See also: 86 C.J.S. Time Section 43 (“[t]he general rules as to the exclusion and inclusion of terminal Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays usually are applied in computing the time for taking any stated action in a judicial proceeding or in computing the time for the performance of an act which is required in appellate practice.”). I am unaware of any court case construing Rule 6 as applicable to election procedure. As you pointed out, the quoted provision of Section 7-11-15 referenced above does not specifically provide for an exception to the specific March 16th and March 30th dates when such dates fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday. However, other provisions in that same statute do provide for extensions of time. As noted in that provision,
...the county executive committee of any political party with whom statements of intention of candidacy are filed must file, in turn, all statements of intention of candidacy with the county election commission by noon on the tenth day following the deadline for filing statements by candidates. If the tenth day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the statements must be filed by noon the following day. The state executive committee of any political party with whom statements of intention of candidacy are filed must file, in turn, all the statements of intention of candidacy with the State Election Commission by noon on the tenth day following the deadline for filing statements by candidates. If the tenth day falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the statements must be filed by noon the following day..... (emphasis added). Other statutes also provide for extensions of time in election matters when a designated period falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. See, e.g., S.C. Code Ann. §§ 7-13-190, 7-13-350, 7-13-352 and 23-11-110(B)(1). As set forth in 29 C.J.S. Elections, Section 114, it is generally held that “[a] statutory requirement as to the time for filing a declaration of candidacy is mandatory....” Similarly, as stated in a prior opinion of this office dated April 28, 2000,
[i]t is well settled that where an election statute imposes a deadline for filing petitions or certificates of candidacy, these deadlines must be met without fail. Election officials possess no discretion whatsoever. Such opinion cited numerous cases in support of such statement including the decision in Vandross v. Ellisor, 347 F.Supp. 197 at 207 (D.S.C. 1972) where the court stated
[s]tatutes, however, which regulate the time for filing a declaration of candidacy are almost universally held to be mandatory; and a declaration that is filed too late is a nullity.

Ms. Andino
Page 3
February 19, 2008
Consistent with the above, in the opinion of this office, candidates seeking nomination by political party primary or political party convention must file a statement of intention of candidacy between noon on March 16th and noon on March 30th consistent with Section 7-11-15. As to any practical problems in the filing date falling on a Sunday, I am unaware of any prohibition to the various committees with whom the statements of intention of candidacy are to be filed receiving such on a Sunday in order to comply with such provision. If there are any questions, please advise. Sincerely, Henry McMaster Attorney General

By:

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

______
Robert D. Cook
Assistant Deputy Attorney General

Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General