Statement Regarding PACEI Request for SC Voter Data

Posted on July 6, 2017

COLUMBIA, SC (July 6, 2017) - The S.C. State Election Commission (SEC), in considering the request for voter data made by the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (PACEI), has carefully reviewed applicable state law and has consulted with the S.C. Attorney General’s office. The SEC has determined that release of voter data to anyone who is not a registered South Carolina voter is not permitted by state law. The agency may only provide voter data to registered South Carolina voters. This rule is not specific to the PACEI request and applies to any request for voter data from any individual or organization from outside the state.

Some data requested by the PACEI is not collected by the SEC, and other data is never released:

At no time does the SEC release Social Security Numbers, in whole or in part, to anyone, whether a voter or not.
The SEC has no data on a voter’s party affiliation, as South Carolina does not have registration by party.
At no time does the SEC have any information about how people vote, only information about which elections a voter has participated in.

Read the SEC response to the PACEI request letter.

Read the request letter from the PACEI received by the SEC on July 3, 2017.

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