Platt ballot bid takes new twist
County Democratic Party files suit in effort to keep him from running for House in fall
Eugene Platt's legal fight to get on the Nov. 4 ballot as a District 115 state House candidate grew more complex this week as the Charleston County Democratic Party filed suit to keep him off the ballot.
Platt lost the Democratic primary in June to James Island lawyer Anne Peterson Hutto, but he hopes to get on the ballot as a candidate for the Green Party, which nominated him in May.
The State Election Commission has ruled that Platt is ineligible to run again in November because he lost the Democratic primary. Platt and the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the commission's decision in court.
They are taking on South Carolina election laws that allow candidates to run for office under multiple parties while imposing a "sore loser" statute that prohibits a candidate defeated for one party's nomination from appearing on the ballot for another party.
Meanwhile, Charleston County Democratic Chairman George Tempel filed a complaint this week in the Court of Common Pleas, asking the court to enjoin Platt from campaigning in the general election.
The complaint is based on a pledge that Platt signed with the party in March vowing that he would "not authorize my name to be placed on the general election ballot by petition and will not offer or campaign as (a) write-in candidate."
Platt's position is that the pledge does not apply to his candidacy as a Green Party candidate.
Political observers don't expect Platt to place any better than third should his name appear on the ballot, but these legal cases aren't moot. Platt's presence on the ballot could harm Hutto's bid to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Wallace Scarborough, who edged Platt in the general election two years ago.
E-mail this story 
Printer-friendly version
Notice about comments:
The Post and Courier is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. The Post and Courier does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "suggest removal" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our Web site.
Full terms and conditions can be read here.
Comments
This article has 2 comment(s)
Posted by Plattburger on September 9, 2008 at 1:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
It would be nice if the Post and Courier would conduct a poll of actual voters rather than publishing predictions from anonymous "political observers". Eugene came within 40 votes of ousting Scarborough in 2006, winning the support of about 6000 Republicans, Democrats and Independents, and somehow Peterson Hutto's 856 votes in her only election ever mean that she's better poised to come in 1st or 2nd?! Let's see a poll.
To me the fact that The Democratic Party is wasting so much money, time and energy trying to prevent citizens from having the right to vote for Platt, rather than going after Scarborough's dismal record, suggests they're more afraid of Platt winning than Scarborough.
-Paul Platt
Posted by Plattburger on September 10, 2008 at 1:43 a.m. (Suggest removal)
To clarify, Peterson Hutto's 856 votes from DEMOCRATS do not compare with Platt's broad spectrum of support in this 60% Republican district.