A South Carolina circuit court judge has ordered the Palmetto State’s election commission (SCVotes) to include the name of a candidate on next week’s ballot for U.S. Senate over the objection of the S.C. Republican Party (SCGOP). The ruling comes after the SCGOP and its pro-establishment leader, Drew McKissick, were criticized for their selective enforcement of a new party rule which excluded multiple candidates from the August 11, 2026 ballot.
Background
Danny Lee Ford II, one of the candidates excluded from the ballot, sued the SCGOP, arguing that the party’s rule was applied unfairly. The court agreed, stating that the SCGOP’s interpretation and application of its own rules revealed a lack of consistency, which tended to present its decisions on candidate certification as capricious and arbitrary.
As a result, SCVotes has been ordered to include Ford’s name on the ballot for the August 11, 2026 special Republican primary election for United States Senator. However, due to the timing of the ruling, it is unclear whether it will be feasible to include Ford’s name on all ballots for early voting and election day.
Original reporting: FITSNews — read the source article.
