THE MEETING OF THE STATE ELECTION COMMISSION WAS HELD PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AND ALL REQUIRED NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE.

Mr. Martin made a motion to approve the March State Election Commission Minutes. Dr. Robinson seconded the motion. The March Minutes of the SEC meeting were unanimously approved as written.

Mr. Dan Richardson, who was a candidate for House District 14 in Abbeville and Greenwood counties in the 2000 General Election was present at the meeting. Mr. Richardson filed, in a timely manner, what he considered a protest of the election. Mr. Hendrix notified Mr. Richardson that his letter was actually a complaint rather than a protest due to the fact that Mr. Richardson’s allegations did not rise to the level of standards for a protest as defined by the State Supreme Court. Mr. Hendrix invited Mr. Richardson to share his concerns with the State Election Commission. Mr. Richardson presented his concerns about problems during the General Election. Mr. Hendrix indicated that he would be willing to meet with the Greenwood County Election Commission to share Mr. Richardson’s concerns with them. Dr. Cureton stated that the Commission is working with the Governor’s Election Task Force in an attempt to eliminate some of the problems before the next Statewide election. Mr. Martin assured Mr. Richardson that his complaints are taken very seriously by the Commission.

The commissioners took a 5 minute break. Upon returning from the break, Mr. Hendrix updated the commissioners on the status of Bills that are currently before the General Assembly. Mr. Hendrix stated that he testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Election Laws as to the current state of elections in South Carolina. Mr. Hendrix noted that many of the concerns that were included in the Election Summit Report are addressed in House Bill 3789. While very few election bills have a chance of passage this year, he feels that several have a good chance of passage in the next session. Mr. Hendrix will keep the commissioners apprised of any changes in the legislation.

Mrs. Willie Way-Foster attended the meeting with her husband and presented a map of Richland County which she had framed and donated to the SEC. All of the commissioners met Mrs. Way-Foster and thanked her for the donation.

As a result of an appeal from the November 7, 2000, election for Jasper County Council District 1, a new election was ordered. Ms. Donna Royson, Director of Election Services for the SEC, facilitated a retreat for the County Election commissioners on a Saturday before the election, Mr. Hendrix conducted a back to basics workshop, and Mr. Garry Baum, Training Coordinator for the SEC, conducted poll manager training in preparation for the new election. Due to the magnitude of problems reported during the November 7th election, Mr. Hendrix and Ms. Royson visited several of the polling places on election day. Mr. Hendrix reported that the SEC staff was well received, the election was overall a successful one and the candidate who originally lost the election won the second election. He further stated that he feels the SEC sent a message that the problems encountered at the original election will not be tolerated.

Mr. Hendrix updated the commissioners on the agency’s budget. He reported that the funds for the new registration system are still in the budget at this time. He also informed the commissioners that he recently presented justifications for our requests to the Senate Finance Committee.

Mr. Hendrix announced that on May 7th, he and the managers of the SEC will provide lunch for the agency employees in recognition of State Employee Recognition Day. The commissioners were invited to attend the luncheon. May 7-11 has been designated "State Employee Recognition Week". Mr. Hendrix stated that he will also send an individual letter to each employee thanking them for their dedication and service.

The next meeting was tentatively scheduled for May 17, 2001, at 10:00 a.m. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Janet Reynolds