COUNTY OF RICHLAND ROBERT DURDEN INGLIS; FRANK HEINDEL, Plaintiffs, v. THE SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY & DREW MCKISSICK, State Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, in his official capacity. Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS Civil Action No. 2019-CP-40-05486 PLAINTIFFS’ SUPPLEMENTAL NOTICE Plaintiffs respectfully submit this notice to correct an error in plaintiffs’ motion papers. As this Court is aware, plaintiffs seek an order reversing the S.C. GOP’s unlawful cancelation of the “First in the South” presidential primary to prevent irreparable harm to both plaintiffs and the public interest. See Pls.’ Mot. for Prelim. Inj. In plaintiffs’ memorandum in support of their motion for a preliminary injunction, plaintiffs incorrectly stated that the Court would need to issue relief “by December 4” in order to preserve plaintiffs’ right to cast votes in the first primary in the South in the 2020 Republican primary. Id. at 2. The correct date is December 3, 2019, not December 4. Plaintiffs apologize for this error. 1 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Nov 22 5:38 PM - RICHLAND - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP4005486 STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA March 3, 2020.1 To hold a presidential primary on that same date, the S.C. GOP must inform the South Carolina State Election Commission no later than December 3, 2019, of the March 3, 2020 date of its presidential primary under South Carolina law. See S.C. Code Ann. § 7–11–20(B)(3) (“The political party shall give written notice to the State Election Commission of the date set for the party’s presidential preference primary no later than ninety days before the date of the primary.”).2 Plaintiffs also note that in order to hold a primary on February 29, 2020 (the same day as the South Carolina Democratic Party’s primary), the notice would have to be submitted no later than November 30, 2019. The next set of Republican Party presidential primary elections, which includes the North Carolina and Alabama primaries, will take place on March 3, 2020. See Sarah Almukhtar, Jonathan Martin & Matt Stevens, 2020 Presidential Election Calendar, N.Y. Times (Oct. 25, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/us/elections/2020-presidential-electioncalendar.html. 1 “In computing any period of time prescribed or allowed by . . . any applicable statute, the day of the act, event, or default after which the designated period of time begins to run is not to be included. The last day of the period so computed is to be included, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday or a State or Federal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is neither a Saturday, Sunday nor such holiday.” Rule 6(a), SCRCP; see, e.g., Walton v. Canal Ins. Co., 331 S.C. 636, 643–44, 503 S.E.2d 727, 730–31 (1998); Lindsey v. S.C. Tax Comm’n, 323 S.C. 57, 60 n.3, 448 S.E.2d 577, 578 n.3 (Ct. App. 1994). Accordingly, in order to hold a primary on March 3, 2020 (i.e., the same day as the first southern Republican primaries), defendants must notify the Election Commission of their decision by December 3 so that the 90-day period concludes on March 2, permitting the Commission to conduct the election on March 3. 2 2 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Nov 22 5:38 PM - RICHLAND - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP4005486 The first southern Republican primaries are currently scheduled to occur on Respectfully submitted, By: s/Bess J. DuRant Thornwell F. Sowell III, SC Bar No. 5197 Bess J. DuRant, SC Bar No. 77920 SOWELL & DuRANT LLC 1325 Park St., Suite 100 Columbia, SC 29201 Telephone: (803) 722-1100 Facsimile: (803) 281-8890 bsowell@sowelldurant.com bdurant@sowelldurant.com Cameron Kistler (pro hac vice) Rachel F. Homer (pro hac vice) UNITED TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY, INC. 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, #163 Washington, D.C. 20006 Telephone: (202) 579-4582 Facsimile: (929) 777-8428 cameron.kistler@protectdemocracy.org rachel.homer@protectdemocracy.org John Langford (pro hac vice) UNITED TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY, INC. 555 W. 5th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 Telephone: (202) 579-4582 Facsimile: (929) 777-8428 Email: john.langford@protectdemocracy.org Deana K. El-Mallawany (pro hac vice) UNITED TO PROTECT DEMOCRACY, INC. 15 Main Street, Suite 312 Watertown, MA 02472 Telephone: (202) 579-4582 Facsimile: (929) 777-8428 deana.elmallawany@protectdemocracy.org Counsel for plaintiffs 3 ELECTRONICALLY FILED - 2019 Nov 22 5:38 PM - RICHLAND - COMMON PLEAS - CASE#2019CP4005486 Dated: November 22, 2019