Opinion ID: 1230397
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Timeliness of protest

Text: Petitioner contends Seigler's protest to the County Board was not timely filed as required by S.C.Code Ann. § 7-17-30 (Supp.1999) which provides: Any protest or contest must be filed in writing with the chairman of the [county] board ... by noon Wednesday following the day of the declaration by the board of the result of the election. This issue is without merit. First, petitioner never raised this time-bar issue below. Although a protest that is not timely is barred, Sims v. Ham, 275 S.C. 369, 271 S.E.2d 316 (1980), a time bar does not raise the issue of subject matter jurisdiction and is waived by the failure to raise it. McLendon v. South Carolina Dept. of Highways, 313 S.C. 525, 443 S.E.2d 539 (1994) (statute of limitations defense). Since this issue was not raised or ruled on below, it is not preserved on appeal to this Court. Mullinax v. J.M. Brown Amusement Co., 333 S.C. 89, 508 S.E.2d 848 (1998). In any event, petitioner cannot prevail on the merits. She contends the time for Seigler to file a protest began running on the night of the election when Seigler saw a printout of the election results posted at the polls. This is incorrect. The time to file a protest commences running when the County Board canvasses the votes and transmits them to the State Commission as required under S.C.Code Ann. § 7-1-20 (1976). Sims v. Ham, supra . The order of the State Commission states the County Board certified the election results on Thursday, April 15. This is the only indication in the record of any action by the County Board in compliance with § 7-17-20. Accordingly, Seigler's protest was timely filed on Wednesday, April 21, which was the first Wednesday after the County Board's action on April 15. Petitioner contends in the alternative there is no evidence in the record that Seigler's protest was filed before noon on Wednesday, April 21, as required under § 7-13-30. As the appellant in this case, however, petitioner has the burden of showing the protest was not filed before noon. She has failed to meet this burden. Germain v. Nichol, 278 S.C. 508, 299 S.E.2d 335 (1983) (appellant has burden of providing this Court with sufficient record).