(A) The oath, which is required by Section 7-15-370 to be imprinted on the return-addressed envelope, furnished each absentee ballot applicant, must be signed by the absentee ballot applicant and witnessed by a person who is at least eighteen years of age. The address, printed name, and signature of the witness shall appear on the oath. In the event the voter cannot write because of a physical handicap or illiteracy, the voter must make his mark and have the mark witnessed by someone designated by the voter. The oath must be in the following form: "I hereby swear (or affirm) that I am duly qualified to vote at this election according to the Constitution of the State of South Carolina 1895, that I have not voted during this election, that the ballot or ballots contained in this envelope is my ballot and that I have received no assistance in voting my ballot that I would not have been entitled to receive had I voted in person at my voting precinct." ________________________________________ Signature of Voter Dated on this __________________ day of _________________________ 20 ______ Signature of Witness Printed Name of Witness ________________________________________ Address of Witness (B) Qualified voters under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act are exempt from witness requirements in subsection (A). Validity For the validity of the prior version of this section, see Middleton v. Andino, 488 F.Supp.3d 261 (D. S.C. 2020). Editor's Note 2011 Act No. 43, SECTIONS 1 and 10, provide as follows: "SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the 'South Carolina Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voters Act'." "SECTION 10. This act takes effect upon preclearance approval by the United States Department of Justice or approval by a declaratory judgment issued by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, whichever occurs first." [Preclearance approval received August 22, 2011.] 2022 Act No. 150, SECTION 45.C, provides as follows: "[SECTION 45.]C. SECTIONS 3 and 6 shall take effect on July 1, 2022." Effect of Amendment 2022 Act No. 150, SECTION 6, in (A), in the first sentence, inserted "by a person who is at least eighteen years of age" at the end, in the second sentence, inserted ", printed name, and signature" following "The address", and in the oath form, inserted "1895" following "Constitution of the State of South Carolina" and the line for "Printed Name of Witness".
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