Jasper Co. councilman ran in a district he doesn’t live in. He may be forced to resign
A Jasper County councilman may be forced to resign after a “residency oversight” was discovered more than a year after his election, according to the county.
Currently, Jasper County Council has three members living in the same district — one more than legally allowed, a recent county news release said.
Alvin Adkins, who represents the Pocotaligo district, actually resides in the Coosawhatchie district, the release said. He “apparently had his address incorrectly located in the adjacent district at the Elections Commission” at the time of his election.
Adkins was elected in 2020 after defeating longtime incumbent Henry Ethridge in the Democratic primary, then running unopposed in the general election.
The Jasper County Council is made up of five members across four districts. Each district has at least one member who lives in the district they ran to represent. One of the four districts will have two councilmen, because the fifth member is voted on at-large, meaning they can live in any of the districts.
//But no district can have three councilmen.
The county believes Adkins “wasn’t qualified” to run in the Pocotaligo district because of where he resides, County Administrator Andrew Fulghum said in the release.
“With that in mind, and after consulting with county election officials, the State Election Commission and our county attorney, we will be discussing with County Council in due course concerning asking Mr. Adkins to resign his seat and holding a special election to fill the Pocotaligo seat on council,” Fulghum said.
Adkins did not respond to calls seeking comment but previously told the Jasper County Sun Times he was hiring an attorney.
Questions surrounding the issue first arose at a Jan. 13 council workshop meeting when state officials were sharing proposed maps related to redistricting council seats based on the 2020 U.S. Census.
At-large councilman John Kemp noted that three councilmen, including himself, were listed in the same district.
“I think they made a mistake on Councilman Adkins,” he said.
Frank Rainwater, executive director of the S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office who was presenting the maps, paused.
“If that’s a mistake, we’ll have to give you a new map, but that was not our intent,” he said.
Rainwater apologized multiple times, asked his colleague across the table whether Kemp’s observation was accurate, to which the colleague replied it was.
“We will verify that. ... We should have caught this before then. We’ll have to go back and review this,” Rainwater said.
Adkins was in the meeting but did not speak during this exchange.
Less than two weeks later, the county sent a news release announcing Adkins’ “residency oversight.”
“I did not bring that to light and I had no idea all of this was going to happen,” Kemp said in a phone interview Thursday, adding that he didn’t know where Adkins lives and thought the third dot may have been an old councilman’s address.
But now that this issue has arose, Kemp said it’s important to follow the law.
“The faster this gets over the better it is,” he said. “If it’s a problem with the law, then we’ve got to change the law.”
According to state law, the political parties certifying the candidates they’re nominating are responsible for ensuring their candidates meet the requirements prior to the general election — including checking addresses.
The county is following guidelines and policies in place, but “immediate decisions are based on what Councilman Adkins decides,” it said. Because of that, Adkins will continue to serve on the council until he resigns or is removed through a legal process. If Adkins’ seat becomes vacant, the county would hold a special election for the Pocotaligo district.
The Jasper County Board of Elections and Voter Registration is also “following the advisement” of the State Elections Commission and is planning to put a new process in place to vet all candidate’s residency for district purposes, board Director Jeanine Bostick said Thursday.
The agenda for Jasper County Council’s regularly scheduled meeting Monday says members will discuss “election matters” in closed executive session. If any decision is made in executive session, the council must vote on it during the public portion of the meeting.
A solution will likely have to be reached before the end of the month because the maps for redistricting must be voted on and approved before candidates start filing in March for upcoming elections.
Adkins, who is sometimes listed as Councilman Pastor Adkins on council meeting minutes, serves in leadership at On-Time Holiness Outreach Ministry in Gillisonville. The Pocotaligo election was the first time he ran for public office. He’d previously worked as a county employee and a school bus driver for almost two decades each.
