Richland County elections director steps down after 2 years on the job. Deputy to leave too
Richland County’s elections director is leaving after two years in the role,— the county’s fifth full-time elections director in the last 10 years, the board chairwoman confirmed.
Alexandria Stephens did not provide a reason for her resignation to the board, which was submitted Monday, Chairwoman Anjanette President said.
Stephens’ last day is scheduled for Aug. 29.
Days later, Deputy Director Terry Graham who has served interim director in the past, told the Richland County Legislative Delegation he would be leaving the elections office, but will stay on until after the Nov. 8 election.
President told The State they had no warning Stephens planned to step down.
Stephens did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Stephens took over elections in Richland County in June 2020. Before her arrival, the office had been plagued with issues from long lines to issues with voting machines.
Elections have largely run smooth since Stephens took over as director.
“Her tenure was great, we did not have an issue or concern with it,” President said. “That’s the reason why we were totally shocked because of it. We did not have any issues with it, or with her, or with anything.”
A search for a new director isn’t expected to take place until after the Nov. 8 election.
“Our main focus and the goal is making sure we have a successful fall election at this particular point in time,” President said.
The State Election Commission is expected to provide assistance where needed between now and the election, President said.
The Richland County elections office has been under the microscope since a botched election in 2012, when people waited for hours in long lines to vote with precincts having inadequate amounts of functioning voting machines. Some abandoned their chance to vote, and lawsuits were filed against the commission.
In 2019, Gov. Henry McMaster dismantled the Richland County election board after more than 1,000 ballots were lost in the 2018 election.
The election office during the June 2020 primary, before Stephens was hired, had a shortage of poll workers, long lines and hours-long waits at some precincts. There were also allegations of incorrect ballots given to voters.
The office attributed the issues to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the November 2021 election, a couple of precincts in Richland County had trouble getting voting machines to work for a couple of hours and temporarily shifted to paper ballots.
This story was originally published August 19, 2022 at 11:41 AM.
