Can you collect ballot-petition signatures near a polling place in South Carolina, or does the 500-foot rule ban it?

Official title

Opinion addressing whether S.C. Code Section 7-25-180 prohibits soliciting signatures for a petition drive within five hundred feet of a polling place.

Requester

Requested by Howard Knap, Executive Director, South Carolina Election Commission.

Plain-English summary

The South Carolina State Election Commission asked the Attorney General whether § 7-25-180, which bars distributing campaign literature or placing political posters within 500 feet of a polling-place entrance during voting, also bars collecting petition signatures near a polling place. The question was prompted by the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. presidential campaign, which wanted to gather signatures for an independent ballot petition outside polling places, including during the February 2024 Presidential Preference Primaries.

The Attorney General concluded the statute does not prohibit collecting signatures for a nominating petition within the 500-foot zone. The office traced a consistent line of its own opinions going back to 1970 that read § 7-25-180 (and its predecessor, 1962 Code § 23-658.2) narrowly: the statute prohibits "distributing" campaign literature and "placing" political posters, and it does not reach a candidate's or worker's mere presence at a polling place. A 1974 opinion to the Election Commission had said candidates may stand within the zone and shake hands with voters, and may wear a simple name badge that does not advertise the campaign.

The AG then checked whether later amendments expanded the banned conduct, because the office will not overrule a prior opinion unless it is clearly erroneous or the law has changed. It found the amendments changed the zone's measurement point (1990), added a subsection letting candidates wear a small name-and-office label (1996), and expanded the zone from 200 to 500 feet and added the early-voting period (2022), but none of them changed the statutory language describing the prohibited conduct. So the office concluded the General Assembly did not intend to prohibit additional conduct, and its narrow prior reading still controls.

The office also noted that no South Carolina court has construed § 7-25-180 to bar collecting signatures. The one Supreme Court case interpreting the statute, W.J. Douan v. Charleston County Council, held it applied even to poll managers distributing government-drafted campaign material, but that case involved distribution of literature, not petition activity.

The opinion added two cautions. First, a petition drive could still violate the statute on particular facts, for example if workers wear clothing or set up a display advertising the candidate to draw attention to the drive, since displaying such materials is prohibited within the zone. Second, activities near a polling place remain subject to election managers' authority to maintain good order under § 7-13-140.

What this means for you

Candidates and petition organizers: Based on this opinion, you can collect nominating-petition signatures within 500 feet of a polling-place entrance. What you cannot do is hand out campaign literature, place political posters, or wear/display materials that advertise a candidate inside that zone.

Election officials and poll managers: The AG read the 500-foot prohibition as limited to distributing campaign literature and placing posters, not petition signature-gathering or mere presence. You retain authority under § 7-13-140 to maintain order in the vicinity of the polling place.

Voters and observers: The opinion confirms that someone collecting signatures near a polling place is not necessarily violating the campaign-materials rule, though the surrounding conduct (signs, candidate gear) can cross the line.

Common questions

Does South Carolina's 500-foot rule ban collecting petition signatures near polls?
No. The AG concluded § 7-25-180 prohibits only distributing campaign literature and placing political posters, not collecting signatures for a nominating petition.

Did the 2022 change to 500 feet expand what is prohibited?
No. The 2022 amendment enlarged the zone from 200 to 500 feet and added the early-voting period, but the AG found it did not change the statutory description of prohibited conduct.

Can a petition worker get in trouble near a polling place?
Yes, depending on the facts. If workers wear or set up materials that advertise a candidate to draw attention to the petition drive, that display can violate the statute, even though the signature-gathering itself does not.

Who controls conduct right around the polling place?
Election managers. The AG noted that under § 7-13-140, poll managers have authority to maintain good order in the immediate vicinity of a voting area on election day.

Background and statutory framework

S.C. Code § 7-25-180(A) makes it unlawful to distribute campaign literature or place political posters within 500 feet of any entrance used by voters, during polling hours and the early-voting period, and authorizes poll managers and law enforcement to remove such material. Subsection (B) lets a candidate wear a small label with the candidate's name and the office sought within the zone, but not inside the polling place. Nominating by petition is governed by § 7-11-70, and election managers' order-keeping authority by § 7-13-140.

The statute originated as 1962 Code § 23-658.2 in 1968 and has been amended by 1990 Act No. 393 (measurement from the voter entrance), 1996 Act No. 466 (candidate name label), and 2022 Act No. 150 (200 to 500 feet; early-voting period). The AG relied on its longstanding non-overruling rule and on Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 533 S.E.2d 578 (2000), for reading legislative intent from the text. The key case interpreting the statute is W.J. Douan v. Charleston County Council, 357 S.C. 601, 594 S.E.2d 261 (2003), and the opinion also cited Cleveland v. City of Seneca SC, No. C.A. 8:09-626-HMHWMC, 2010 WL 1257566 (D.S.C. Mar. 23, 2010), on election managers' authority to maintain order.

Citations

• S.C. Code § 7-25-180 (campaign literature and political posters within 500 feet of a polling place)
• S.C. Code § 7-11-70 (nomination by petition)
• S.C. Code § 7-13-140 (election managers' authority to maintain good order)
• W.J. Douan v. Charleston County Council, 357 S.C. 601, 594 S.E.2d 261 (2003)
• Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 533 S.E.2d 578 (2000)
• Cleveland v. City of Seneca SC, No. C.A. 8:09-626-HMHWMC, 2010 WL 1257566 (D.S.C. Mar. 23, 2010)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/opinion-addressing-whether-s-c-code-section-7-25-180-prohibits-soliciting-signatures-for-a-petition-drive-within-five-hundred-feet-of-a-polling-place/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/media/swhmli24/03493879.pdf

Original opinion text

i
F

Alan Wilson
attorney General

January 26, 2024

Howard M. Knapp
Executive Director
South Carolina Election Commission

P.O. Box 5987
Columbia, SC 29250

Dear Director Knapp:

Attorney General Alan Wilson has referred your letter to the Opinions section. Your letter
states the following:

The South Carolina State Election Commission (SEC) writes to request an opinion
as to scope of political activity covered by South Carolina Code of Laws § 7-25180, which states:

(A) It is unlawful for a person to distribute any type of campaign
literature or place any political posters within five hundred feet of
any entrance used by the voters to enter the polling place, during

polling hours on an election day and during the early voting period.
The poll manager shall use every reasonable means to keep the area
within five hundred feet of any such entrance clear of political
literature

and

displays,

and

the

county

and

municipal

law

enforcement officers, upon request of a poll manager, shall remove
or cause to be removed any material within five hundred feet of any

such entrance distributed or displayed in violation of this section.

(B) A candidate may wear within five hundred feet of the polling
place a label no larger than four and one-fourth inches by four and
one-fourth inches that contains the candidate's name and the office

he is seeking. If the candidate enters the polling place, he may not

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Director Howard M. Knapp
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January 26, 2024

display any of this identification including, but not limited to,
campaign stickers or buttons.

This question is prompted by an inquiry from the presidential campaign of Robert
F. Kennedy, Jr., who is conducting a petition drive to be placed on the ballot as an
independent in the 2024 election for United States President. His campaign would
like to be able to collect signatures outside of polling places, including the
upcoming Presidential Preference Primaries that will be held in February 2024.

Petition drives are a person’s attempt for their name to be placed on the ballot for
an upcoming election. With regards to any polling place where people are actively
voting, a petition drive cannot relate directly to the matter currently being voted on.

In the context of a partisan PPP, a petition drive conducted by an independent

candidate for U.S. President would not directly relate to the matter being decided
in the PPP, though it would obviously relate to who may be on the ballot as
candidate for President in the upcoming election.

The State Election Commission asks this question of the Attorney General:

Does Section 7-25-180 prevent petition drive activities, such as collection of

signatures in support of a person’s independent candidacy for United States
President, from being conducted within 500 feet of an active polling place’s
entrance during a Presidential Preference Primary? If so, are there any elections
during which petition drive activities may be conducted within 500 feet of an active
polling place entrance, or does Section 7-25-180 bar all kinds of political expression

and activities within 500 feet of a polling place entrance regardless of the nature of
the matter currently undergoing the vote?

Law/Analysis

It is this Office’s opinion that S.C. Code § 7-25-1 80 does not prohibit a candidate or their
campaign workers from collecting signatures in support of a nominating petition within five

hundred feet of any entrance used by voters to enter a polling place. See S.C. Code § 7-1 1-70
(nomination by petition). Our opinions construed prior versions of this statute narrowly to prohibit

“‘distributing’ campaign literature or ‘placing’ political posters.” Op. S.C. Att’v Gen., 1970 WL
17204 (October 16, 1970). Section 7-25-180 was originally adopted in 1968 and codified as 1962

Code § 23-658.2.

Our October 16, 1970 opinion to Mr. C. Kenneth Powell, Richland County

Director Howard M. Knapp
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January 26, 2024

Republican Party Chairman, was our earliest opinion considering whether activity beyond
displaying campaign literature and placing posters was prohibited by the statute. Id. In relevant
part, the requester asked whether “it is permissible for a person to stand 200 feet away from a
polling place with a list of electors and check off on the list each voter as he approaches to vote.”
Id.

We concluded that because “the person or persons checking the names off would not be

‘distributing’ campaign literature or ‘placing’ political posters,” section 23-658.2 would not
prevent “this activity . . . even less than two hundred feet from the building wherein a polling place
might be located.”

The next opinion addressing this statute was authored by Attorney General McLeod on

October 30, 1970, wherein he was asked, “Is it legal for a candidate whose name is on the general
election ballot to make observations and surveillance of the election at various precincts, provided

he does not impede the election process?” Op. S.C. Att’y Gen., 1970 WL 17139 (October 30,
1970). Attorney General McLeod responded:

This Office knows of no provision of the election law which would make it
unlawful for a candidate to merely be present in and around a polling place on
election day. A candidate, because of his candidacy, has no special privileges and

would be subject to the authority of the poll managers within the polling place. ...

Concerning the presence of a candidate outside the building wherein a polling place

is located, it is our opinion that managers have no control over their activity in such
areas, except that candidates cannot, as in the case of any other person, distribute

any type of campaign literature or place any political posters within two hundred

(200) feet of such building. See Section 23-658.2.

I±
Finally, our August 9, 1974, opinion to Mr. James B. Ellisor, Executive Director of the
South Carolina State Election Commission, addressed what “campaign literature” was prohibited
from being displayed. Op. S.C. Att’v Gen., 1974 WL 28125 (August 9, 1974).

We are in receipt of your letter of July 23, 1974, requesting clarification of South
Carolina Code of Laws, 1962, as amended, Section 23-658.2. Specifically, the

question has been raised as to what campaign literature is prohibited from being
displayed within two hundred (200) feet of the polls. The statute expressly forbids

placing political posters or political literature and displays within two hundred
(200) feet of a polling place. Therefore, any material which would advertise a

Director Howard M. Knapp
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January 26, 2024

candidate, i.e., name tags, bands on hats, bumper stickers, etc. would come within
the prohibition of this statute and could not be displayed within two hundred (200)
feet of the polls.

The statute does not deal specifically with candidates or their workers campaigning
within two hundred (200) feet of the polls. However, it would be permissible for a
candidate to stand inside the two hundred (200) feet and shake hands with persons
coming to vote. It would be permissible for the person to wear a simple name badge
if the badge did not in any way advertise his political campaign.
Id. (emphasis added); see also Op. S.C. Att’v Gen., 2008 WL 4489043, at 2-3 (September 30,
2008) (“Consistent with the above, in the opinion of this office, campaign literature and materials
such as campaign t-shirts, hats, pins, etc. should not be displayed or worn in an absentee precinct
and/or other polling places.”). These opinions consistently construed section 23-658.2 narrowly

to prohibit distributing campaign literature and placing political posters, but did not construe the
prohibition to apply to candidates or their campaign workers mere presence at polling places.
This Office recognizes a long-standing rule that it will not overrule a prior opinion unless

it is clearly erroneous or there has been a change in applicable law. Ops. S.C. Atty. Gen., 2017
WL 5203263 (October 31, 2017); 2017 WL 3438532 (July 27, 2017); 2013 WL 6516330
(November 25, 2013); 2013 WL 3762706 (July 1, 2013); 2009 WL 959641 (March 4, 2009); 2006
WL 2849807 (September 29, 2006); 2005 WL 2250210 (September 8, 2005); 1986 WL 289899

(October 3, 1986); 1984 WL 249796 (April 9, 1984). As described above, 1962 Code § 23-658.2
is now codified at S.C. Code § 7-25-180 (2019). Section 7-25-1 80 has been amended several times
since these opinions were originally issued.

Therefore, we will review these amendments to

determine if modification of these prior opinions is appropriate.

The amendments to section 7-25-180 do not expand the conduct prohibited thereunder. In

1 990, the General Assembly amended the statute to change the 200-foot prohibition zone to be
calculated from “any entrance used by the voters to enter the polling place” rather than from “the
building in which a polling place is located.” See 1990 Act No. 393, § 1 . In 1996, the statute was

amended to add subsection (B) which expressly permits candidates to be within the prohibition
zone with “a label ... that contains the candidate’s name and the office he is seeking.” 1996 Act

No. 466, §10.’ Within the polling place, a candidate “may not display any of this identification.”
1 The 1 996 Amendment appears to endorse the conclusion of our August 9, 1 974, opinion to Mr. James B.
Ellisor quoted above that suggests a candidate may have a name badge. Op. S.C. Att’y Gen., 1974 WL
28125 (August 9, 1974). The legislation also clarifies that it is permissible for the name badge to display
the office sought.

Director Howard M. Knapp
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January 26, 2024

Id. The prior prohibitory language was moved to subsection (A) and was otherwise unaltered by
the amendment. Id. Finally, in 2022, section 7-25-180 was amended “to expand the prohibition
on distribution of campaign literature outside of polling places from two hundred to five hundred
feet,” and to extend the time it applies to include “the early voting period.” 2022 Act No. 150, §

39. In summary, these amendments have changed the location from which the prohibition zone is

calculated, its size, included the early voting period, and clarified that candidates may be present
with a name badge within the prohibition zone. The amendments did not, however, modify the
statutory language describing what conduct is prohibited. As a result, we do not find the General
Assembly intended to prohibit further conduct when it adopted the amendments to section 7-25-

180. See Hodges v. Rainey, 341 S.C. 79, 85, 533 S.E.2d 578, 581 (2000) (“What a legislature says
     in the text of a statute is considered the best evidence of the legislative intent or will.”).
     This Office is unaware of any decision issued by our state courts that have construed

section 7-25-180 to prohibit the collection of signatures. This Office is aware of one South Carolina
Supreme Court decision interpreting S.C. Code § 7-25-180. In W.J. Douan v. Charleston County
Council, 357 S.C. 601, 594 S.E.2d 261 (2003), the Court found the statute applied even to poll
managers distributing campaign material drafted by a governmental body.

South Carolina Code Ann. § 7-25-1 80(A) prohibits the distribution of any type of
campaign literature within 200 feet of a polling place on election day. S.C. Code

Ann. § 7-25-1 80(A) (Supp.2002). The statute gives law enforcement officers the
authority to remove any such material upon the request of the poll manager. Id.
Section 7-25-1 80(A) was intended to grant poll managers authority to prevent
certain activity by members of the public on election day.

In this case, the poll

managers themselves distributed the alleged “campaign literature” at the behest of
the County Election Commission.

Id. at 613, 594 S.E.2d at 267. The Court found “no logical distinction” to permit the distribution

of campaign materials drafted by a governmental body within the prohibition zone while refusing
to allow private parties to do the same, Id. at 614, 594 S.E.2d at 267. The facts in W.J. Douan
decision did not afford an opportunity to explore the statute’s applicability to activities beyond the
distribution of campaign literature.

Because the amendments to section 7-25-180 did not change the statutory language
describing what conduct is prohibited, nor are we aware of a decision of our state courts contrary

to our prior opinions, we do not find those opinions to be clearly erroneous nor that there has been
a change in applicable law. Consequently, the August 9, 1 974, opinion to James B. Ellisor remains
this Office’s opinion with modification that the prohibition zone extends to five hundred feet. Op.

Director Howard M. Knapp
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January 26, 2024

S.C. Att’v Gen., 1974 WL 28125 (August 9, 1974). Again, section 7-25-180 “does not deal
specifically with candidates or their workers campaigning,” nor docs it address conducting a

petition drive. Therefore, consistent with our narrow interpretation of the conduct prohibited by
section 7-25-180, it is this Office’s opinion that the statute docs not prohibit conducting a petition
drive within the prohibition zone.

Conclusion

For the reasons discussed more fully above, it is this Office’s opinion that S.C. Code § 725-180 docs not prohibit a candidate or their campaign workers from collecting signatures in

support of a nominating petition within five hundred feet of any entrance used by voters to enter a
polling place. It is, however, possible for persons conducting a petition drive to violate section 725-180 depending on the facts of a particular case. One can certainly envision a scenario where a

candidate or their workers wear clothing or set up a display which advertises the candidate to draw
attention to the petition drive.

As our prior opinion stated, the display of those materials “would

come within the prohibition of this statute and could not be displayed within” the prohibition zone.
Op. S.C, Att’y Gen., 1974 WL 28125 (August 9, 1974). Finally, we note that activities within the

vicinity of a polling place are subject to election managers’ “authority to maintain good order.”
S.C. Code § 7-13-140; see also W.J. Douan, supra (“Section 7-25-1 80(A) was intended to grant
poll managers authority to prevent certain activity by members of the public on election day.”);
Cleveland v. City of Seneca SC, No. C.A. 8:09-626-HMHWMC, 2010 WL 1257566, at *3 (D.S.C.
Mar. 23, 2010) (“South Carolina provides election managers, like Moses, with the ability to

maintain peace and order in the immediate vicinity of a voting area on an election day.”).

Sincerely,

Matthew Houck
Assistant Attorney General
REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

Robert D. Cook
Solicitor General