S.C. Dems agree Fogle can run; Orangeburg County coroner’s runoff Tuesday

Candidate Montez Haynes challenged Fogle’s eligibility after receiving documents questioning whether Fogle meets the one-year residency requirement in the county to run for office.

The South Carolina Democratic Party’s Executive Committee confirmed Fogle’s eligibility after a 15-minute, closed-door deliberation. The hearing was held at the University of South Carolina School of Law in Columbia.

Haynes appealed a unanimous decision made June 20 by the Orangeburg County Democratic Party’s Executive Committee. That committee also certified Fogle’s eligibility to be on the ballot.

Following Saturday’s decision, Haynes said he is considering bringing the matter to court.

“It is not just about the election, it is about the people of Orangeburg County receiving the proper information,” Haynes said.

He said his protest was about making sure the voting process was done with “integrity.”

“It is not what I wanted but I wanted to make sure the truth was known,” he said.

“I am pleased with the public knowing what has happened and hope we can move forward in our party,” Haynes said.

Fogle said, “I would like to thank my family, friends and supporters for the love and support they’ve shown over the last few days.

“In addition, thank you to the local and state party and to Attorney Lawrence Keitt for his excellent legal representation.”

Fogle, Haynes and Valencia Golden ran for coroner in the June 11 Democratic primary. Fogle received 4,345 votes, or 44.51 percent, to Haynes’ 3,305 votes, or 33.86 percent. Golden received 2,112 votes, or 21.63 percent.

Fogle and Haynes will face each other this Tuesday in a runoff election since no one received the majority vote.

During Saturday’s hearing, Haynes’ attorney, Thomas Sims, said the county’s Democratic Party received information on April 24 questioning Fogle’s qualifications.

Sims said the county Democratic Party responded to this information on May 1 and did not take formal action on the allegations.

As Sims tried to provide documents as evidence, Keitt noted the documents were not submitted during the Orangeburg County hearing and should not be admitted during the appeals hearing.

Attorney Alex Craven sustained Keitt’s objection, explaining that only what was discussed and presented at the county level could be brought forward.

During Saturday’s hearing, Sims reiterated the concerns regarding Fogle.

“He stated that he has Georgia driver’s license, his tag on his car is from Georgia, he has a home in Georgia and that he voted in the March 2023 election in Georgia and not in the state of South Carolina,” Sims said. “He indicates he lives in Holly Hill, South Carolina, in heirs property that is not basically his, and he presented his tax information. It does not indicate any homestead exemption here in the State of South Carolina that I can see.”

“How can you vote here in South Carolina if you still have a Georgia driver’s license?” Sims said. “If you still have all of these things indicating you are a citizen of the state of Georgia, how were you able to get a valid voting record here in the state of South Carolina?”

“Our problem is one of clarity and one of integrity,” Sims continued. “If we as Democrats are going to enforce and vehemently enforce voting rights and the integrity of voting in other parties, then we must also have that same integrity and the same vehement attitude when we look at our own people and our own elections when we are voting.”

“Our people deserve to know and understand and to be sure that our voting in our own party is as clean and above board as necessary,” Sims said. “The people of Orangeburg County deserve the same thing that in the Democratic Party we stand for, that same issue that we bring against others.”

In his rebuttal, Keitt said, “Unlike Mr. Sims, I don’t have to worry about the integrity of the Democratic voting process.”

“I think we are people of honor, and we clearly honor the vote,” Keitt said. “The situation here is that they are misreading the statute.”

Keitt cited the state law that shows the qualifications to run for coroner in South Carolina.

“There is no requirement that you be a citizen of the state of South Carolina,” Keitt said. He said the law requires one to be a citizen of the United States.

“That is very important because they are conflating citizenship and residency,” Keitt said.

Keitt said the residency requirement requires an individual to be a resident for at least one year before running for the office of coroner.

“In this instance, Mr. Fogle has been a resident in South Carolina for far more than that,” Keitt said.

Keitt said Fogle’s tax returns for 2022 and 2023 are also for the state of South Carolina.

“He was living and is still living in heirs property,” Keitt said.

Regarding Sims’ contention that he found no record of Fogle using the homestead exemption in South Carolina, Keitt said “That is a false narrative because of course you have to own the property to apply for homestead exemption.”

“You can’t apply for homestead exemption in their landlord’s properties no matter how long you live there,” Keitt said. “The property is in the name of an ancestor and therefore he has no right to apply for a homestead exemption.”

“This is just a situation where they are just confused,” Keitt continued. “We don’t question anybody’s honor. We certainly think they have a right to do this, they have a right to be here, but the law in South Carolina is very clear.”

Keitt said courts have already defined the word “resident.”

“Resident is used in the strict primary sense of one actually physically living in a place for a time,” Keitt said. “It doesn’t have to be forever. It doesn’t have to be for a lifetime, for a time.”

Keitt said the statute only relates to residency and not citizenship “which are entirely different things.”

“A person can file taxes in South Carolina and not in Georgia, as my client did, then he is a resident of the state South Carolina,” Keitt said. “And he lives in heirs property … which is in Orangeburg County. Therefore he is a resident of the state of South Carolina and Orangeburg County. It is very simple, not hard to understand.”

Keitt said the third qualification is to be a registered voter and the statute does not say a person has to be a registered voter in South Carolina.

“He registered in Orangeburg County in January of 2024,” Keitt said. “He was a registered voter at the time he submitted himself for election. We submit he met all the qualifications of the law. I am sorry they conflate citizenship and residency to mean the same thing: they don’t under the law.”

In answer, Sims said, “He pays money here in South Carolina and gets a refund, but his allegiance is to the state of Georgia.

“Are we now asking that anyone can do that? Come here and be in allegiance to another state and still run for office here?”

“We still stand on the position that Mr. Fogle is not qualified to run and that the Orangeburg Democratic Party did not do a complete investigation to determine the qualifications.,” Sims said.

“Both parties were treated fairly,” Orangeburg County Democratic Party Chairman Anthony Hallmon said about the state party’s decision.

“The state Democratic Party has these procedures in place for situations that arise like this one,” he said.

“The decision by the State Executive Committee to uphold the election reflects our commitment to the democratic principles and integrity of the electoral process,” Hallmon continued. “This decision underscores our dedication to fairness and transparency.”