News & Updates

The State (Columbia, SC):
Op-Ed - Member of Same Party Should Fill Vacancies

BYLINE: CHIP LIMEHOUSE, Special to The State

On March 7, I introduced a bill that requires the governor to fill any U.S. Senate vacancy by appointment of a person who has declared himself to be a member of the same political party as the senator who vacated the office. It requires that the individual chosen to fill the vacancy furnish the governor an affidavit stating his intentions to serve in the office as a member of that political party.

I sincerely believe this legislation will preserve and honor the intent of the voters when they elect a United States senator. As I have stated before, every vote should count. Whether it is a Republican or Democratic governor, that governor should honor the will of the voters.

Much to my surprise, this legislation has drawn criticism from Eldon Wedlock a constitutional law professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Professor Wedlock has expressed doubts about the constitutionality of the legislation. While I am not a constitutional law professor, I do have a basic understanding of the guiding principle that legislation enacted by the General Assembly is presumed to be constitutional unless a clear constitutional violation can be shown, and courts are generally reluctant to issue such a finding. Even for a layman, this appears to be a pretty high legal standard to overcome.

While I respect Professor Wedlock's legal opinions, I would like to point out that seven attorneys have signed on as co-sponsors of this legislation. They include Speaker Pro Tempore Doug Smith, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jim Harrison and Speaker David Wilkins. The 17th Amendment to the Constitution gives the state legislature the power to let the governor make appointments in the case of vacancy in the office of U.S. senator. As Speaker Wilkins so succinctly stated, "the power to give implies the power to restrict." This legislation is a needed law change for South Carolina. It simply defines the governor's power to appoint an interim senator.

My legislation is not a venture into uncharted territory. Arizona, Utah and Wyoming all enacted similar provisions in 1993, and in 1998 Alaska followed suit.

Critics of the bill have charged that it somehow injects political partisanship into the process of filling senatorial vacancies. They miss the point. This legislation is designed to prevent a governor from placing loyalty to a political party above the will of the people that has been clearly expressed on election day. This bill protects the public from partisan strategists.

The governor's authority to appoint an interim senator is a stopgap solution that allows our government to continue to function until the people have an opportunity to select a new representative. No governor should use his temporary appointment as a means of disrupting the congressional leadership chosen by the people. This bill ensures that our political leadership in the Senate changes only when the voting public purposefully decides it should change. In supporting this bill, we are saying that we in South Carolina do not want our governor to embarrass us by second-guessing the will of the voters.

Rep. Limehouse represents Charleston County in the S.C. House.

###