The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 27, 2000, Page 3, Image 3
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New election codes spark controversy in Senate
by Amanda Silva
The Gamecock
A controversial period of ques
fo? tion about a new bill proposed by the
Elections Committee to amend the
election codes dominated student
senate’s meeting Wednesday night.
The bill is a revision of the cur
rent election codes and an attempt
by the committee to clarify the cur
rent election process.
“I just want the election process
to be as fair and precise as possible,”
Elections Commissioner Angie Alpert
said.
The bill was met with heated op
position, and some senators who
didn’t agree with the wording or the
content of the codes suggested sev
eral changes.
The meeting threw the fate of the
‘legislation, which is the first to be
taken up by the Senate since Sept.
26 and tlje first binding bill to be con
sidered this year, into doubt.
The main concern surrounded
person-to-person campaigning on
election day and campaigning in USC
buildings.
“Online voting started last year,”
Alpert said, so one of this year’s main
concerns is distribution of campaign
materials in buildings with comput
er labs which serve as official polling
locations.
The bill wasn’t voted on but could
potentially be voted on next week if
it’s reopened by the Senate.
According to Vice President
Corey Ford, the Senate must approve
the codes as soon as possible in or
der to get them signed by SG Presi
dent Jotaka Eaddy and USC Presi
dent John Palms in time for upcoming
elections in February.
Amendments to the codes are
done as soon as possible in the first
semester in order for them to be en
acted by second semester, Alpert said.
President Protempore Melissa
Fletcher also said the bill needed to
be passed soon.
“I think it is important to clari
fy the issues surrounding the elec
tions so that they will run as smooth
ly as possible,” she said.
Fletcher said it was also impor
tant to discuss any new issues from
last year that could affect the elec
tions, such as the computers in the
Russell House being used as part of
the polling stations.
However, Sen. Michael Kozlarek
said he had concerns about the
bill’s content and the speed the spon
sors wanted to move it through the
^ Senate.
In addition to having concerns
about the vagueness of some of the
bill’s provisions, Kozlarek said he op
posed a provision restricting person
to-person campaigning to election
day and barring such campaigning in
any buildings with official polling
places.
“What’s wrong with people hand
ing out their stuff?” Kozlarek asked
in a phone interview after the meet
ing.
He added that, while he had no
problem with banning candidates
from polling locations and creating
a buffer zone around the locations,
he didn’t believe a ban on the en
tire building where a polling place is
located was necessary.
At the Senate meeting, Kozlarek
proposed that Ford appoint a group
of five or six senators to look into re
vising the bill. Ford rebuffed the sug
gestion.
Kozlarek said he had concerns
with rushing the bill through only to
have it contain problems that might
draw a veto from Palms. _
“I’d rather do it at the front end
than wait for him to correct it and
send it back,” Kozlarek said.
Kozlarek was attempting to meet
with Alpert and Fletcher before
the next Senate meeting in order to
address some of his concerns. If that*
doesn’t work, Kozlarek said he
planned on proposing at least the six
amendments he has already drafted.
Eaddy said Thursday she might
veto the bill if the restriction on per
son-to-person campaigning before
election day was removed.
Ford said it has been a matter of
precedence that the codes are amend
ed every year, and that it’s always a
controversial issue.
The next Senate meeting will al
low for debate on specific content of
the revised bill, if it is re-opened.
Absences from the meeting in
cluded Sen. Faiyaz Dossaji and Sen.
Kenny Hinson.
Brandon Larrabee contributed to this
report.
The university desk can be reached at
gamecockudesk@ho6mail.com.
Wednesday, Oct. 25
• Illegal use of telephone, South
Tower. Reporting officer R. Shir
er spoke with a resident who said
an unknown subject who identified
° himself as David was making ha
rassing phone calls to her room.
The victim said she didn’t know
who David was.
• Auto break-in, larceny of CD play
er, Roost parking lot. Angela Malek
said unknown person(s) gained ac
cess to her vehicle through the pas
senger’s side front door and re
moved the Pioneer CD player from
her car. The reporting officer was
C.Morales, and the estimated val
ue is $150.
• Water damage/Malicious, Snow
den dorm. Student Douglas Shear
er told reporting officer R. Osborne
that unknown person(s) by un
known means damaged the fire hose
and sprayed water from the hose,
causing damage to the residence
hall.
• Trespassing after notice, Byrnes
Center. Reporting officer M. Moore
observed Derek Neal, 38, picking
through an ashtray outside of the
above location. The reporting offi
cer stopped Neal, who gave the false
name Arnold Jackson to the offi
cer. After a NCIC check, it was
confirmed he had an outstanding
city of Columbia warrant for
foigery.
Tuesday, October 24
'
• Auto break-in. Complaintant said
unknown person(s) broke out the
driver’s side-front window and re
moved between one and 22 CDs
from his car. Also taken from the
car were two 12” kicker speakers,
one speaker box and a CD player.
• Found property, 1200 Heyward
St. Reporting officer L. Forte spot
ted a bicycle lying in the grass be
side the road. A search of the sur
rounding area for an owner was
conducted with no contact. Forte
brought the bike back to the station
for safekeeping. Police are willing
to give the bicycle to its proper
owner upon a complete description
of bicycle.
—
Thursday, October 26
• Malicious injury to real proper
ty, 3000 Two Notch Road. The
complaintant, a worker for Enter
prise Rentals, said he was operat
ing a company vehicle at the inci
dent location when an unknown
subject used unknown means, pos
sibly some type of firearm, to shat
ter the left-side rear glass window
of the vehicle. The complaintant
was unable to provide any further
details. However, he said he smelled
an unusual sulfuric scent after the
window shattered. Estimated dam
age is $200. Reporting officer was
J. Whittle.
• Disregarding red light, driving un
der suspension, 3100 Two Notch
Road. The suspect, Jermaine
Davonn Allen, was stopped for run
ning a red light at the incident lo
cation. Allen said his license was
suspended, which was confirmed
through dispatch. Allen was arrested
and taken to Richland County
Detention Center. Reporting offi
cer was J. Fisher.
• Trespassing in an unsafe building,
2112 Sumter St. While checking
property at the incident location",
reporting officer Laney found the
suspect, Clifford Rawls, inside. The
Columbia Inspection Department
had previously posted several
“No Trespassing” signs in locations
around the building. The property
has been declared uninhabitable.
Wednesday, October 25
• Petit larceny, 360 Harbison Blvd.
The victim, Marcella Shirey, said
that an unknown subject stole her
navy blue leather purse out of her
grocery cart buggy. The purse con
tained a South Carolina driver’s li
cense, a Wachovia checkbook and
$22 cash. Estimated value is $74.
Reporting officer was W.L. Buff
ington.
• Petit larceny, 401 Columbiana
Drive (Columbiana Ridge Apart
ments). The complaintant, Hyacinth
Salmon, said her son left her cel
lular phone unattended in the
breeze way of her apartment build
ing. During that time, an unknown
suspect stole the phone, a black
SunCom model. The serial number
is unknown. Estimated value is
$180. Reporting officer was W.L.
Buffington.
• Simple assault, 4311 Grand St.
The victim, Karen Stanley, said
an unknown black female subject
hit her on her hand, head and
back with a stick. Reporting offi
cer Carillo couldn’t see any visible
signs of injury.
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-Young healthy women
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-Procedures are done in
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Hodges
from page 1
South Carolina,” he said.
Reflecting on this statistic,
Hodges mentioned the focus on
teacher salary in South Carolina.
He voiced his support of raising pay
dramatically.
Hodges has proposed raising
salaries for the state’s teachers to
the national average.
“While it didn’t seem to mat
ter too much in the past, salary must
now be carefully considered,”
Hodges said. “Within six years we
want to move toward the national
average of $43 thousand to $44
thousand.”
Hodges also advocated an in
creased concentration on classroom
discipline and teacher-training pro
grams so more learning can take
place.
“We are concerned with what
can be done to better prepare teach
ers for the classroom,” he said.
The governor also addressed an
attempt to lower class size to 15
students per room.
“We need to immediately be
gin from pre-kindeigarten to col
lege, an educational system that ad
dresses all aspects. The goal is for
South Carolina to be a national
leader in education.”
The city/state desk can be reached at
gamecockcitydesk@hotmaiLcom.
Health :
from page 1
“The military retirees were
promised health care for life when
they initially enlisted,” she said. “But
after the invention of Medicaret in
stead of the military paying for their
health care, Medicare did. Basically,
the military was not keeping their
• promise to these retirees, and Sen.
Hollings has wanted to change that.”
Another problem with military re
tirees’ health care being provided by
Medicare-, according to a Hollings’
press release, is there is no prescrip
tion drug coverage.
The bill will provide military re
tirees with two options for purchas
ing prescription drugs. The retirees
will either be able to purchase a 90
day supply of drugs from the Nation
al Mail Order Pharmacy for $8, or they
will pay 20 percent of the cost for pre
scription drugs from the Defense De
partment’s Retail Pharmacy.
“This bill goes a long way toward
restoring the promises that the Unit
ed States made to its military,” Hollings
said.
“These jnilitary retirees were
promised health care for life upon
twenty years of service, and it is im
portant to me that we'keep that
promise. It is one of many ways that
we should honor these retirees who
selflessly laid lives on the line fight
ing for our nation’s values and free
doms,” Hollings said.
Hollings has long advocated restor
ing health care to U.S. Medicare-eli
gible military retirees.
Earlier this year, fie co-spon
sored Sen. Tim Johnson’s bill to pro
vide military retirees with access to
the federal government’s health care
system, but that bill didn’t pass. The
bill that passed on Oct. 12 was a com
promise proposal.
The city/state desk can be reached at
gamecockcitydesk@hotmail.com.
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