SC Dems hearing protest over US Senate primary

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - South Carolina's Democrats are gathering to decide whether to overturn the results of a primary election in which an unemployed, unknown military veteran won the nomination for U.S. Senate.

The state party's executive committee is meeting Thursday in Columbia to hear a protest by former state lawmaker Vic Rawl.

Rawl says malfunctions in voting machines or software may have caused him to lose the June 8 Democratic primary to political unknown Alvin Greene.

Rawl says voters have told him they meant to vote for him but saw Greene's name on their screens instead.

The executive committee could uphold the election, order a new primary or find that problems were so significant that Rawl should be declared the winner.

Greene says he will not attend.