South Carolina local trial court judicial elections, 2016
From Ballotpedia
Ten of South Carolina's 46 counties held elections for their probate judges in 2016. While a general election was held November 8, 2016, the races were already decided in the primaries on June 14, 2016.
This was because each seat up for election only saw candidates from one party—Democratic or Republican—file for each race. Additionally, South Carolina provides for a possible second primary, but no such runoff primary was necessary as no more than two candidates filed within each party for any one seat.
In order to run in the 2016 elections, candidates for probate judge had to file their candidacy by March 30, 2016. Unopposed candidates advanced directly to the November ballot; they did not appear on the primary ballot. Write-in candidates were allowed in the general election.[1]
HIGHLIGHTS
Probate court candidates
Aiken County Probate Court
Bamberg County Probate Court
☑ Sarah Guess Noel (i) 
Calhoun County Probate Court
☑ Kathy Strickland Brown (i)
Defeated in primary
Clarendon County Probate Court
Defeated in primary
Dorchester County Probate Court
☑ Mary L. Blunt (i) 
Georgetown County Probate Court
Defeated in primary
Lee County Probate Court
Defeated in primary
Marion County Probate Court
☑ T. Carroll Atkinson III (i)
Defeated in primary
Saluda County Probate Court
☑ Brenda S. Griffith (i)
Williamsburg County Probate Court
☑ Betty F. Matthews (i)
Election rules
Primary election
Primary elections for probate court candidates are conducted on the second Tuesday in June.[2]
Also referred to as a "second primary," a primary runoff is held two weeks after the primary for races where more than two candidates filed to compete for one seat in a party primary. If that is the case, the two highest-voted candidates from the primary advance to a runoff. The person with the most votes in the runoff becomes the party's nominee for the general election.[3]
For example, if two Democratic candidates compete in the primary, the winner simply advances to the general election. However, if three Democratic candidates compete in the primary, the top two advance to the runoff. The winner of the runoff faces any Republican candidate in the general election.
General election
Unopposed candidates for the probate courts do not appear on the primary ballots, but automatically advance to the general election.[4]
Recent news
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See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed December 7, 2015
- ↑ South Carolina Legislature, "Code of Laws, Section 7-13-15," accessed June 20, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina Legislature, "Code of Laws, Section 7-13-50," accessed June 20, 2014
- ↑ South Carolina Legislature, "Code of Laws, Section 7-11-90," accessed June 20, 2014
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