Terms Used In South Carolina Code > Title 7 > Chapter 17 - Canvass of Votes; Certificates and Records of Results

• Adjourn: A motion to adjourn a legislative chamber or a committee, if passed, ends that day's session.
• Administrative Law Court: means the Administrative Law Court created pursuant to § 1-23-500. See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriate supervisory office: means :
  
  (a) the State Ethics Commission for all candidates for public office in this State except for members or staff, including staff elected to serve as officers of or candidates for the office of State Senator or State Representative;
  
  (b) the Senate Ethics Committee for members or staff, including staff elected to serve as officers, of or candidates for the office of State Senator, and the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for members or staff, including staff elected to serve as officers, of or candidates for the office of State Representative;
  
  (c) the State Ethics Commission for all committees, except legislative caucus committees, supporting or opposing a ballot measure or supporting or opposing a candidate;
  
  (d) the Senate Ethics Committee for all legislative caucus committees and legislative special interest caucuses affiliated with the Senate, the House of Representatives Ethics Committee for all legislative caucus committees and legislative special interest caucuses affiliated with the House of Representatives, and both ethics committees for all legislative caucus committees and legislative special interest caucuses affiliated with both houses. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Ballot measure: means a referendum, proposition, or measure submitted to voters for their approval. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Ballot measure committee: means :
  
  (a) an association, club, an organization, or a group of persons which, to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, receives contributions or makes expenditures in excess of two thousand five hundred dollars in the aggregate during an election cycle;
  
  (b) a person, other than an individual, who, to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, makes contributions aggregating at least fifty thousand dollars during an election cycle to or at the request of a ballot measure committee; or
  
  (c) a person, other than an individual, who, to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, makes independent expenditures aggregating two thousand five hundred dollars or more during an election cycle. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• beneficiary: means a person designated by a participant in the South Carolina Retirement System, the South Carolina Police Officers System, the Retirement System for Members of the General Assembly, the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors, or the State Optional Retirement Program, to receive a benefit from the retirement systems or a person claiming the status and entitlements of a "member's designated beneficiary". See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Board: means the Board of Directors of the South Carolina Public Employee Benefit Authority. See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Business: means a corporation, partnership, proprietorship, firm, an enterprise, a franchise, an association, organization, or a self-employed individual. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Candidate: means : (a) a person who seeks appointment, nomination for election, or election to a statewide or local office, or authorizes or knowingly permits the collection or disbursement of money for the promotion of his candidacy or election; (b) a person who is exploring whether or not to seek election at the state or local level; or (c) a person on whose behalf write-in votes are solicited if the person has knowledge of such solicitation. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Chambers: A judge's office.
• Claimant: means a member or a member's designated beneficiary who has filed a claim pursuant to this chapter. See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Committee: includes a party committee, a legislative caucus committee, a noncandidate committee, or a committee that is not a campaign committee for a candidate but that is organized for the purpose of influencing an election. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• communication: means (i) any paid advertisement or purchased program time broadcast over television or radio; (ii) any paid message conveyed through telephone banks, direct mail, or electronic mail; or (iii) any paid advertisement that costs more than five thousand dollars that is conveyed through a communication medium other than those set forth in subsections (i) or (ii) of this paragraph. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Concurrent resolution: A legislative measure, designated "S. Con. Res." and numbered consecutively upon introduction, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President/Governor and thus do not have the force of law.
• Contribution: means a gift, subscription, loan, guarantee upon which collection is made, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit of money, or anything of value made to a candidate or committee to influence an election; or payment or compensation for the personal service of another person which is rendered for any purpose to a candidate or committee without charge, whether any of the above are made or offered directly or indirectly. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
• Director: means the Director of the South Carolina Retirement System, the South Carolina Police Officers System, the Retirement System for Members of the General Assembly, the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors, and the National Guard Retirement System. See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dower: A widow
• Election: means :
  
  (a) a general, special, primary, or runoff election;
  
  (b) a convention or caucus of a political party held to nominate a candidate; or
  
  (c) the election of delegates to a constitutional convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this State. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Elective office: includes the office of probate judge. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Expenditure: means a purchase, payment, loan, forgiveness of a loan, an advance, in-kind contribution or expenditure, a deposit, transfer of funds, gift of money, or anything of value for any purpose. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Expenditures incurred: means an amount owed to a creditor for purchase of delivered goods or completed services. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Individual: means one human being. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Loan: means a transfer of money, property, guarantee, or anything of value in exchange for an obligation, conditional or not, to repay in whole or in part. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Member: means a participant in the South Carolina Retirement System, the South Carolina Police Officers System, the Retirement System for Members of the General Assembly, the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors, the State Optional Retirement Program, the National Guard Retirement System, or a person claiming the status and entitlements of a "member". See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, a proprietorship, firm, partnership, joint venture, joint stock company, syndicate, business trust, an estate, a company, committee, an association, a corporation, club, labor organization, or any other organization or group of persons acting in concert. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Political party: means an association, a committee, or an organization which nominates a candidate whose name appears on the election ballot as the candidate of that association, committee, or organization. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Public official: means an elected or appointed official of the State, a county, a municipality or a political subdivision thereof, including candidates for the office. See South Carolina Code 8-13-1300
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• retirement systems: means the division of the board administering the South Carolina Retirement System, the South Carolina Police Officers System, the Retirement System for Members of the General Assembly, the Retirement System for Judges and Solicitors, the State Optional Retirement Program, or the National Guard Retirement System. See South Carolina Code 9-21-20
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Uphold: The decision of an appellate court not to reverse a lower court decision.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.