SC judge won’t step into Jasper Co. councilman’s residency issue. What’s next?
A South Carolina judge has declined to immediately intervene and call a special election for Jasper County Councilman Alvin Adkins’ seat, according to a recent court filing.
Adkins’ future on the council has been in question since it was discovered he’d been elected to represent the Pocotaligo District while living in the Coosawhatchie District. The residency issue was first noticed during a January council meeting discussing redistricting when members realized there were three incumbents living in the same district, one more than legally allowed.
Jasper County filed a request for injunction in February after Adkins said he wouldn’t resign, listing both the councilman and county Election Board as defendants. The parties appeared before Circuit Judge Bentley Price on March 4 and Price filed his order denying the county’s request for temporary injunction on March 24.
In the order Price wrote that the county would need to establish three things for the court to step in, including it “would suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted”, it “will likely succeed on the merits of the litigation,” and “this is an inadequate remedy at law.”
The order says the elements of a temporary injunction were not met and suggested the “parties argue the merits of this case at a later time.”
So although the court has yet to step in, it appears the litigation is ongoing and will either be continued through mediation behind closed doors or in front of a judge or jury at a later date.
Council approved a redrawn map on Feb. 22 based on 2020 U.S. Census data, which needed to be redrawn before the filing period opened in mid-March for this year’s elections, that moved Adkins’ residency from the Coosawhatchie District to the Pocotaligo District. The ordinance changing the map passed in a 3-2 vote after a fiery debate between members that led to Chairperson Barbara Clark calling for Councilman John Kemp to be muted during the online Zoom meeting.
The new map seemingly resolved the residency issue but the validity of the vote has been questioned because if Adkins had abstained— which some have called for him to do while his eligibility to represent the Pocotaligo Distinct has been unclear — the vote would have resulted in a tie and the ordinance redrawing the map would not have received final approval.
Adkins won the Democratic primary for the Pocotaligo township seat in 2020, defeating longtime incumbent Henry Etheridge, then running unopposed in the general election. Multiple residents have said he should be allowed to finish out his term while others have called for the county’s voting districts to be changed entirely.
Council also posed several questions in its initial February filing that have yet to be answered in public court documents or during council meetings, including:
▪ Is Adkins qualified to represent the Pocotaligo Township District seat?
▪ If Adkins is not qualified for that position, is there a vacancy on council for said district?
▪ If there is a vacancy, when did that vacancy occur and is a special election required?
▪ Has Adkins been serving as a “de facto council member” since he took office and, if so, continue to do so until a special election can be held?
▪ Would the passage of a redistricting ordinance that puts Adkins’ address into the Pocotaligo District remove the need for a special election?
▪ Were votes cast by Adkins as a council member beginning in January 2021 through the present properly counted?
As of now, the filing for this year’s general election has closed and it does not appear that a special election will be included ahead of the June 14 primaries.
Two other council seats are up for election with incumbents facing a challenger in both races this November.
Incumbent Martin “Marty” Sauls IV (R) will face former councilman Samuel Gregory (D) in the Coosawhatchie District as incumbent Curtis Brantley (D) will face Coy Garbade (R) for the Robertville District.
This story was originally published April 4, 2022 at 12:58 PM.
