A bill currently being considered by the South Carolina Legislature might require Sullivan’s Island to abandon a decades-old tradition and move its municipal elections from May to November.
House Bill 3734, currently making its way through the State Senate, would force Sullivan’s Island to either pass an ordinance transferring the authority for town elections to the Charleston County Board of Elections or start handling all aspects of the voting process without help from the county. The town has been holding its municipal elections in odd years in May at least since 1979, according to Mayor Pat O’Neil.
“Our goal is to have the town transfer the authority of the elections to the county and to move to November of odd years,” Isaac Cramer, executive director of the County Board of Elections, told Council members at their Feb. 20 meeting. “We’re trying to streamline elections. This is a win for everybody.”
Cramer pointed out that the only visible change would be that elections for the Sullivan’s Island Town Council would be held in November rather than in May. He said Council’s in Folly Beach and Kiawah Island recently prepared for the impending passage of the legislation by making that move.
House Bill 3734 was introduced in January 2023 by State Sens. Brandon Newton of Lancaster; Gilda Cobb-Hunter of Orangeburg; and R. Raye Felder of Fort Mill. Cramer said the legislation also would affect three other municipalities in Charleston County that currently have their own election commissions: Charleston, Meggett and Hollywood.
“We’re not looking to take power away from the town,” Cramer said. “We want to continue to give you professional service but also adhere to state law. If you want to keep your municipal election commission, you’re welcome to do that, but you’ll conduct your elections on your own.”
O’Neil pointed out that if the town’s elections are moved from May to November, the terms of current Council members would probably have to be extended by six months, an option that apparently didn’t appeal to Council member Justin Novak.
“Running elections is not simple, and I don’t know if the town is prepared to do that on a practical level. But unilaterally extending our terms is not an attractive option for me – somebody who believes in elections and getting elected for a certain period. That’s going to be something to struggle with,” Novak said.
“O’Neil added that “In case you haven’t noticed, elections are becoming a little more contentious these days. If there’s a way to let somebody else manage that professionally for us, it sounds like we might want to consider that.”
In other action Feb. 20, the Council unanimously approved the recommendations of town staff concerning fires on the beach. The new policy will permit fires only from Oct. 1 through April 30, only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and only in the areas of stations 22, 25 and 30. In addition, just two permits will be issued by the town each night. Residents will be charged $150 plus a $250 refundable deposit, while those who don’t live on the island will pay $300 plus a $500 deposit. The new guidelines won’t go into effect until October of this year.