Bill Would Require Fewer Election Ads

(AP) _ Lawmakers have given initial approval to abill to allow the South Carolina Election Commission and localgovernments to save money by publishing fewer, shorter voternotices in local newspapers. The bill approved Thursday by a House Judiciary subcommitteewould move most of those legal advertisements from print to thestate Election Commission’s Web site. Smaller ads in newspaperswould direct readers to the site. The shortened ads still would have to give the date, time, typeof election and deadline for registering to vote. The ads would berun in papers once, rather than twice, before an election. The South Carolina Press Association opposes the measure, sayingit would disenfranchise voters who lack Internet access. Supporters say newspapers cover elections in their normalcoverage. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)