Deadline near for appeal to Chester County election

With the deadline looming for an appeal of last week’s election in Chester County, the path is clearing for Shane Stuart to take over as county supervisor as early as Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, there was no indication that incumbent supervisor Carlisle Roddey will file an appeal of the election result that cost him an office he’s held on and off for 30 years. Neither Stuart nor the county election board have been served with a notice of appeal, which would be required before noon Wednesday for any dispute of the election results to be litigated.

Roddey refused to concede the election result last week, when Stuart won 53 percent of the vote in a special re-run of November’s countywide election. Roddey said last week he would consult with an attorney about alleged “irregularities” that could form the basis of an appeal.

Stuart appealed November’s result based on irregularities at some polling stations, leading the S.C. Election Commission to order a new election for the supervisor’s four-year term. The supervisor manages all county departments and chairs meetings of county council.

Stuart said earlier he would wait until Monday’s scheduled meeting of the Chester County Council to be sworn in as the new supervisor, but is now scheduled to be sworn in at 9 a.m. Thursday in the county council chambers.

“You never know what could happen over the weekend,” he said.

Any appeal filed with the election office before Wednesday’s noon deadline could still upend those plans.

An appeal of the results could delay Stuart taking office for several weeks, as an appeal would make its way through the county and state election commissions and potentially all the way to the S.C. Supreme Court.

Roddey was not in the office at the Chester County government complex this week, and did not return calls seeking comment.

This story was originally published March 10, 2015 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Deadline near for appeal to Chester County election."