Selph: Help election officials help you by checking your registration now

Although 2015 is not a major election year, our office has been diligently preparing for the elections later this year and for the 2016 presidential election.

The 2016 election cycle will be a true test for our ability to run the kind of elections we should all expect. We’ll hold municipal elections later this year, followed by the Feb. 20 Republican presidential primary and, a week later, the Democratic presidential primary.

Fast forward to June 14, 2016: We will conduct the state primaries, with runoffs two weeks later. Finally, on Nov. 3, 2016, we will hold the 2016 general election.

I am emphasizing these dates because I want the voters to take this opportunity in advance to examine their voting status. If you have not obtained or have lost or misplaced your photo ID, have recently moved, have changed your name or have not voted in the past two general elections, we are encouraging you to do one of the following well in advance of the elections:

1. Call your county election office to ensure that you are eligible to vote

2. Visit your county election office to make any necessary changes in person

3. Go online to scvotes.org to find the address of your precinct. You can make changes here, as well.

Many of our citizens believe that the 2014 general election was carried out very smoothly. More than 112,000 people cast ballots in Richland County, and our in-house call center logged more than 1,100 calls on Election Day. Richland County has 149 polling sites, administered by more than 1,400 dedicated citizens. The more than 1,100 Election Day calls means that on average each precinct generated fewer than eight calls. I consider that a solid performance, but we can do better.

Richland County has more than 237,000 registered voters. We prepare for each election as if each registered voter will turn out to vote: We want to be able to get them in to vote and out in the most expedited manner possible. You can help us achieve this by ensuring that your name, address and precinct location are all updated prior to the next election.

Director, Richland County Elections & Voter Registration Office

Columbia

This story was originally published June 15, 2015 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Selph: Help election officials help you by checking your registration now."