By PSA Newsroom Staff
Columbia, S.C. – A new report from the South Carolina Legislative Audit Council takes a hard look at how the state runs its elections, and the findings aren’t exactly reassuring. The audit zeroes in on problems with voter registration accuracy, shaky election security, and some questionable decisions behind the scenes. All of this, really, comes back to one thing: people need to stay informed and involved if they want elections they can trust.
Auditors dug into everything from how officials keep voter lists up to date, to how they buy equipment, to what happens after the polls close. They didn’t find evidence that non-citizens voted, but they did spot weak points that, left alone, could chip away at election integrity down the line.
Voter Rolls: Not as Accurate as They Should Be
South Carolina has about 3.7 million registered voters, but the audit found “a few thousand” people still listed as active who shouldn’t be, based on the rules. That’s not all. They uncovered nearly 5,000 voters with duplicate Social Security numbers and over 700 cases where all the personal info matched up more than once.
No one’s saying this proves fraud. But it’s a warning sign. Sloppy voter lists make it easier for things to go wrong, drain resources, and erode trust, even if no one’s actually cheating.
ERIC: Is It Worth What the State’s Paying?
Back in 2018, the State Election Commission (SEC) joined the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to help clean up voter rolls and reach out to voters. Since then, South Carolina has shelled out over $200,000 in membership fees and another $300,000 on mailings.
But here’s the kicker: auditors say the SEC hasn’t used all the ERIC tools that could flag improper voting. Plus, with some states dropping out of ERIC and costs going up, the audit questions whether South Carolina’s getting its money’s worth.
Security Shortfalls at County Election Offices
Working with Homeland Security, the audit found that a bunch of county election offices and storage spots just aren’t secure. We’re talking missing cameras, bad lighting, flimsy locks, and no backup power.
Even though counties got millions in federal funds meant for election security, the SEC hasn’t set aside any of that money to fix these gaps. Auditors warn that this kind of neglect makes equipment more vulnerable to tampering or outages.
Problems with Equipment Tracking and Purchases
The SEC never put together a full inventory of voting equipment bought with state funds. Since 2021, they’ve spent nearly half a million dollars on a cloud-based tracking system, but it’s still not up and running.
That’s not all. The agency dropped about $500,000 last year on 10 new SUVs, even though their old vehicles weren’t being fully used. There were also issues with how they awarded contracts, some deals went to companies without proper bidding, which goes against state rules.
Private Grants and Audit Shortcomings
For the 2020 election, most county offices accepted over $5 million in grants from a private group, while the SEC got $1.27 million from another organization. Most of that money, over $1 million, went to advertising.
As for post-election audits, things were inconsistent. Some counties skipped required audits or forgot to notify the public. At least one had to redo its audit after messing up the first time.
Training and Election Day Mistakes
State law says election board members need ongoing training, but 50 members in 26 counties were missing credits. The SEC can’t really force compliance, either. On top of that, electronic poll books on Election Day 2022 mistakenly showed some early voters as still eligible to vote. No double voting happened, but these kinds of errors are just asking for trouble if they’re not fixed fast.
Why This Matters
The report doesn’t claim there’s widespread fraud, but it makes one thing clear: when records are sloppy and oversight is weak, people start to lose faith in elections.
Clean voter rolls, secure equipment, well-trained officials, and transparent audits, these things are basic requirements for elections people can trust.
At the end of the day, it’s a wake-up call for South Carolinians. Knowing how elections work, and where they fall short, puts the power back in voters’ hands. If you want accountable government, you’ve got to stay informed and speak up when something isn’t right.
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