Joint Assembly elects judges to multiple South Carolina courts; several races decided by roll call

The Joint Assembly of the South Carolina House of Representatives and Senate convened to elect judges nominated by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission (JMSC). Senator Luke Rankin, chairman of the JMSC, placed nominees before the assembly; the presiding officer declared winners after acclamation or formal ballots and roll-call tallies.

Why it matters: These elections fill judicial vacancies across the Court of Appeals, circuit courts, family courts and the Administrative Law Court. Several contested races required recorded votes or multiple ballots; those outcomes determine which nominees will take the bench for terms prescribed by law.

Most nominees were elected by acclamation after the commission reported them qualified. Those elected by acclamation included Christy F. Curtis (Court of Appeals, Seat 2); John D. Gathers (Court of Appeals, Seat 3); Paula H. Thomas (Court of Appeals, Seat 4); Eugene P. Warr Jr. (Circuit Court, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Seat 2); J. Durham Cole Jr. (Circuit Court, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Seat 1); Lawton McIntosh (Circuit Court, Tenth Judicial Circuit, Seat 1); David S. Graham (Circuit Court, Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Seat 1); R. Keith Kelly (Circuit Court at-large, Seat 14); Charles J. McCutcheon (Circuit Court at-large, Seat 16); Anne Gay Jones (Family Court, First Circuit, Seat 1); Amanda Frances Whittle (Family Court, Second Circuit, Seat 1); Angela W. Absdice (Family Court, Second Circuit, Seat 2); William A. W. Buxton (Family Court, Third Circuit, Seat 1); Angela R. Taylor (Family…