SC justices consider fate of dozens of candidates

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Just six weeks before the South Carolina primaries, exactly who can run for local and state legislative offices is still up in the air.

The state Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a lawsuit that could knock dozens of Republican and Democratic candidates off the ballots.

The candidates did not file statements of economic interests at the same time they filed to run for office in March. Under a new system implemented statewide for this election, the economic interest documents were supposed to be filed online with the state Ethics Commission, and the parties did not check for them.

The lawsuit only deals with a handful of candidates, but the justices suggested several times a ruling against them would apply to anyone who did not submit both sets of documents.