The two party system has divided Americans. Neither seems capable of seeking middle ground. They can’t pass budgets. They constantly pick winners and losers through tax policies. What one is for, the other is against. The solution? Pick people who are not pledged to align with either party. But how can you get more choices? Here is a solution.
The SCVotes.gov site can be used as a tool instead of a barrier. The site knows you by your SSN. It knows you by your date of birth. It knows you by your county. They allow you to register to vote using the site. But they will not allow you to sign a petition for an independent candidate.
The rules today require an independent candidate to get 10,000 verifiable signatures by July 15 for a November election. The signatures have to be on paper most people cannot print, legal size paper. The signatures have to be from registered voters, one county per page. The signature has to match what the state has on file at the DMV. The address and printed name need to be legible. The form has blanks for 7 data elements. Only 3 are required by SC law.
We got thousands of signatures. Here is the dialog. Are you a SC registered voter? Would you like to help me get on the ballot in November by providing your signature, printed name and address? What questions can I answer? What county do you live in? Fill in only name, signature and address.
Many people cannot write legibly, and rarely touch a pen. Many are leery of giving up their signature and address to a stranger. And I don’t blame them. The form is cumbersome. The process requires the state to send the county forms to individual county election commissions to verify names, signatures and addresses. Fully manual.
With Claude, or ChatGPT code could be developed for an on line petition. To sign, you would need to verify, the same way you register online. If the site is secure enough to allow registration, it is certainly secure enough to allow an online petition signing.
Below are excerpts from the letter I sent to the SC Election Commission. I don’t expect to hear from them, but I truly believe SC would be better if they would encourage, not discourage independent citizen representative candidates. The duopoly has created a dysfunctional government. I want to respectfully express my concern that the official petition form and related ballot-access process create an unnecessary and unreasonable burden for independent candidates and the voters who may wish to support having additional choices on the ballot. In my view, the process as currently structured is a detriment to democracy in South Carolina. Ballot-access rules should protect election integrity, but they should not function as a barrier that discourages citizen candidates or limits voter choice. The current requirements make it extremely difficult for independent candidates to participate meaningfully in the electoral process, even when they are acting in good faith and attempting to follow the law. One practical improvement would be to revise the official petition form so that it can be printed at home on standard 8.5" x 11" paper, rather than requiring a format that is difficult for ordinary citizens to reproduce. The form should also be limited to the data elements actually required by South Carolina law, rather than including extra fields or formatting requirements that make the process more cumbersome than necessary. A petition form that is simple, legally sufficient, and easily printable by candidates, volunteers, and voters would better serve the public interest. It would preserve the state’s ability to verify signatures while reducing unnecessary obstacles to participation. I believe simple first steps can precede the creation of an SCVotes site that helps citizen representatives get on the ballot without aligning with major parties. 47% of SC citizens identify as Independents. It is time for them to have a choice that isn’t red or blue.
By Don Louis · Published 2026-08-07