SC House votes on paying for Presidential Primaries

The South Carolina House approved a bill Wednesday that would officially put the State Election Commission in charge of the state’s future presidential primaries. Until 2008, South Carolina’s political parties ran and paid for their presidential nominating contests. However, legislators put the state agency in charge that year and approved one-time funding. After strong debate in 2011, lawmakers included language in the budget that gave the State Election Commission authority over the 2012 presidential election as well. The bill now heads to the state Senate.