SCGOP chair calls for state to close its primaries; McMaster opposes

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - As presidential candidates move their campaigns beyond South Carolina and onto other states, the chair of the South Carolina Republican Party is calling for this year to be the last time the state’s presidential primaries are open to any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation.

Ahead of last weekend’s Republican primary, the super PAC “PrimaryPivot” urged Democrats and Independents who had not participated in South Carolina’s Democratic primary to vote in the state’s Republican primary for former Gov. Nikki Haley.

State law allows them to do that, as South Carolina’s primaries are open, so any registered voter can participate in either primary contest, so long as they only cast their ballot in one.

But it renewed a call at the State House for that law to change.

“The most important thing that a party can do is pick a candidate to put on the ballot in November. And why, whenever we do that most important thing that we do, we can’t limit it to people who specifically support our party? It makes absolutely no sense at all,” South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick said.

A bill filed at the State House would allow South Carolina voters to register with a political party, which they cannot do now, or to remain independent.

But under that bill, they would have to be a registered party member to participate in any of that party’s primaries, from local to presidential levels.

The South Carolina Republican Party platform calls for these changes, and McKissick has testified to lawmakers in support of them.

“We’re a supermajority in the State House. We’ve won a majority of elected offices at the local level now around the state, and it’s time to be able to make that change,” McKissick said.

According to South Carolina Election Commission, nearly 900,000 voters cast a ballot in either of the state’s presidential primaries this month, the vast majority in the Republican contest.

At this point, there is no indication there was significant crossover of voters who align with one party participating in the other party’s primary — at least not to the extent it would influence the outcomes.

“Although people have theorized that there may be masses coming over and voting in the Republican primary just to cause mischief, so far in our history, it has not happened,” Gov. Henry McMaster told reporters last week.

That is one reason McMaster, a former South Carolina Republican Party chair, opposes closing primaries.

“I think that’s an unnecessary impediment,” he said. “If you close those primaries, that’s just one more thing that everybody has to register for and maybe carry a card. We are — we think that an inviting party is better.”

The closed primary bill, H.3695, sits in a House of Representatives committee.

It has more than 50 Republican cosponsors but no backing from Democratic lawmakers at this point.

The South Carolina Democratic Party opposed those efforts this month to encourage Democrats to vote for Haley in the Republican primary.

But a spokesperson for the SCDP said it supports keeping the primaries themselves open.

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