by MARK POWELL

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For the second time this year, a bill requiring closed state primary elections has dropped in the South Carolina House of Representatives. The bill – H. 5183 – is currently residing in the chamber’s judiciary committee, where it faces an uncertain future.

This latest proposal, sponsored by state representative Mike Burns, fixes a flaw in a previously introduced version.

“It’s very similar to 3310,” explained state representative Jordan Pace, referencing a previous closed primary bill. “It’s virtually the same, with the exception of when you can register or affiliate for 2026 – and only in 2026 – the first time that a voter votes in a primary, they can sign the affiliation form when they vote.”

Pace is chairman of the S.C. Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers who have been working for years to close partisan primary elections in the Palmetto State. Their objective? Limiting Democrat influence/interference in the selection of GOP representatives.

Under the previous version of the bill, critics expressed concern that some voters might not have time to qualify to cast their ballots in the upcoming Democratic and Republican primary elections on June 9, 2026.

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Current election law provides for an open primary. Any registered voter can request the partisan ballot of their choice on primary day (although they must pick one party or the other; they cannot vote for both).

For Pace and his fellow conservatives, that’s a big problem.

“Right now we have Democrats crossing over and voting in Republican primaries,” Pace explained. “And in some cases, we have Republicans crossing over to vote in Democrat primaries in a few spots around the state. There’s been like four ballot questions over the last decade on primary voting questions. And they all have come back with eighty percent or so saying, ‘crossing over into the other party’s primary is not what we want’. That’s what November (the general election) is for. It’s not what the primaries are for.”

Each state devises its own system for holding elections, and they vary widely across the country. South Carolina is one of fifteen states with an open primary. Nine others, plus the District of Columbia, hold closed primaries. The remainder have various hybrid formats – with the exception of five: Alaska, California, Louisiana, Nebraska, and Washington. These states have so-called “jungle primaries,” electoral free-for-alls with multi-party, nonpartisan voting.

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The latter is exactly the kind of political food fight that supporters of the traditional partisan system wish to avoid with closed primaries.

Many independent voters say they would feel left out with a closed primary. As one told us recently, “I don’t want my choices dictated to me by the political parties – I want to have a say in who appears on the ballot in November.” 

According to Pace, that view misses the point of holding primaries in the first place.

“The reality is that the two parties are private organizations,” he said. “They’re private political organizations. Look at it this way: It’s like outsiders showing up at a lodge or some other social club or somebody else’s church and demanding to vote in their business meeting about whether to hire or fire a pastor or club president. If you’re not part of that organization, if you’re not affiliated with it, then you shouldn’t be allowed to make its decisions. Your vote is in November.”

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Pace also had this assessment of the current balloting situation: “Democrats shouldn’t be voting in Republican primaries, and Republicans shouldn’t be voting in Democratic primaries.”

Asked about the response to the new bill among House members, Pace was frank.

“Tepid would probably be the nicest way to say it,” he said. “There are several people in high-level positions who don’t seem to want this.”

The Freedom Caucus supports the measure, though, and Pace noted closing primaries “has been a Republican Party priority for the last 20 years.” 

“When it comes to passing conservative policies, South Carolina is always dead last among Republican states,” Pace said. “Open primaries are a major contributor to that. And if we were to actually do this (enact closed primaries), as the people have said repeatedly they want, I think we would get better conservative policy passed in Columbia on a regular basis.”

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.

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