Despite string of resignations, Richland County says it is ready for Nov. 8 election
Richland County is more prepared for the Nov. 8 general election than it has been for any election cycle in recent memory, said Terry Graham, interim elections director in the county.
The assurance comes after the county’s previous elections director, Alexandria Stephens, unexpectedly and without giving reason resigned from her position in August, and after Graham himself declared he, too, would resign from the elections office after Nov. 8. A third official also resigned in August.
Despite the turmoil, and despite his own imminent departure from the office, Graham said preparations for the general election are going well.
Officials have hired the 1,200 poll workers Graham said are needed to cover the more than 100 polling locations across Richland County. Many of those workers began training the first week of October. The county is working through additional applications hoping to secure 1,500 workers total so there will be reserves if needed.
“I don’t have any concerns as of today,” Graham said Tuesday. “Like any election, you might have some little hiccups,” but he said he feels more confident in this election than in any recent cycle he’s worked.
Graham credits that confidence to Richland County increasing wages for poll workers for this election. The county approved a one-time pay increase for poll managers and clerks of $50 in addition to what is paid by the State Elections Commission.
That means Richland County poll managers will receive $185, which includes pay for election day as well as training time. Election clerks will receive $245 total. Assistant clerks will earn $215.
This is the first election the county has opted to increase pay for poll workers this substantially, Graham said, adding that while the increase is so far just for the Nov. 8 election, he is hoping it becomes permanent.
Graham added that the elections office also feels prepared to handle early voting, which begins Oct. 24 and runs until Nov. 5.
The Richland County elections office has been under scrutiny for a solid decade, dating back to the 2012 presidential election debacle when there were too few voting machines and many voters waited for hours in long lines late into the night.
In Nov. 2021, several precincts had trouble getting voting machines operational.
For the June 2020 primary, the office reportedly had too few poll workers, long lines and hours-long waits at some precincts.
In 2019, Gov. Henry McMaster dismantled the county elections board after more than 1,000 ballots were lost in the 2018 election. That issue also led to the resignation of the elections office’s then-director, Rokey Suleman, part of a still-ongoing string of leadership turnover in the office.
