Section 33-49-645 - Conduct of elections(A) In the conduct of an election authorized by this chapter or in the bylaws of the cooperative, including the annual election of trustees, a cooperative must prohibit advocacy or campaigning within a distance of the polling place that reasonably ensures that cooperative members are able to vote without harassment, intimidation, or interference. The polling place, for purposes of this section, is the location where votes are collected for tabulation.(B)(1) In the conduct of the annual election of trustees, to the extent that a cooperative's bylaws provide for members to become candidates for the board of trustees by petition, the number of signatures required must not exceed one percent of the total cooperative membership.(2) If the cooperative's bylaws providing for members to become candidates for the board of trustees by petition require the collection of more than 50 signatures of cooperative members, the cooperative bylaws must also provide for a process allowing those signatures to be collected electronically.(C) In the conduct of the annual election of trustees, any member or district information provided to an incumbent trustee for use in campaigning for the board of trustees must be provided to all candidates for the board of trustees on the same terms and conditions.Added by 2019 S.C. Acts, Act No. 56 (HB 3145),s 12, eff. 5/16/2019. 2019 Act No. 56, Section 16, provides as follows:
"SECTION 16. Where the provisions of new or revised 1976 Code sections or subsections contained in this act conflict with provisions of the bylaws of an electric cooperative, the provisions of this act control and the cooperative, as permitted by Section 33-49-280, shall amend and conform its bylaw provisions accordingly."