State Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, D-North Charleston, talks with attendees at the South Carolina Democratic Party’s “First-in-the-Nation Celebration” dinner Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, at the State Fairgrounds in Columbia, S.C. (File/Mary Ann Chastain/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — Former state Rep. Marvin Pendarvis resigned three weeks ago, but as of Wednesday he remains on the ballot as the sole candidate to represent a Charleston County seat in the Statehouse.
The North Charleston Democrat resigned Sept. 16, well after the last day for candidates to have their names removed from the ballot. He had no opposition at all this year, including no third-party challenger, when he resigned.
But the State Election Commission still has not received a letter from Pendarvis withdrawing from the race, meaning that as of Wednesday afternoon he is still an active candidate.
His departure from the Statehouse came five months after a former client, Adrian Lewis, sued him, claiming Pendarvis settled his lawsuit without his knowledge, forged his signature for the $10,000 settlement, and then tried to buy him off to prevent the allegations from becoming public.
The day after Lewis filed his complaint in April, the State Law Enforcement Division confirmed an investigation into Pendarvis. In May, the state Supreme Court suspended his law license.
On Tuesday, Pendarvis told the SC Daily Gazette in a brief call that he sent a letter withdrawing as a candidate in late September, although he was unsure of the date.
Former Rep. Marvin Pendarvis, D-North Charleston, (on the upper right) walks down the Statehouse steps with his fellow legislators before the inauguration ceremony in Columbia, S.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (File/Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
Representatives of both the State Election Commission and the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections said they had not received any such letter from Pendarvis as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Gazette reached Pendarvis’ attorney and followed up by emailing questions, at her request, but did not receive a response by Wednesday evening.
The state Democratic Party did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Exactly what happens from here is not entirely clear, said John Michael Catalano, spokesman for the state Election Commission.
“I’m pretty sure this is unprecedented,” Catalano said of a resignation so close to the election, leaving the commission in “uncharted waters.”
There are two possibilities at this point, Catalano said.
If Pendarvis withdraws as a candidate before Election Day, he could be replaced through an expedited special election process.
If Pendarvis does not submit a withdrawal notice, he will win re-election as the only person on the ballot, Catalano said, barring an unlikely write-in campaign.
If the former lawmaker wins re-election, Catalano anticipates a lawsuit. Or Pendarvis could resign again, triggering the normal special election process for elected officials who resign. In that scenario, the special election would be held roughly 20 weeks after the resignation.