Record-breaking voter turnout possible in Richland County & more Election Day updates
Midlands voter turnout for Tuesday’s midterm election may reach record levels, according to one local election official, as South Carolinians choose the state’s next governor and superintendent of education, among several other contested statewide and local races.
The polls opened at 7 a.m., and will close at 7 p.m. However, if someone is in line to vote when the polls close, under the law they will still be allowed to cast their vote.
For anyone who isn’t certain about where to cast their ballot, information on voting precincts can be found at scvotes.gov.
Early reports
Despite some issues at the start of the day, as of 2 p.m., things were running smoothly at Richland County polling places, the county’s interim election commission director Terry Graham told The State.
Graham said he had to dispel some rumors, straighten out confusion over ballots that had been set up during a combined primary this summer, and went with technicians to help voters cast ballots at the Greenview Park polling place.
“Not everything opened up on time, and (some poll workers) didn’t use emergency, provisional ballots” when there were issues getting the voting machines running, Graham said. “I had to go there to help get the line down.”
Long lines of residents waiting to vote were seen at multiple polling places in Richland County.
Graham said that about 45,000 ballots have been cast by midday. That could lead to record-breaking turnout of voters for a mid-term election, according to Graham.
“It’s looking good. People are taking part,” Graham said.
Lexington County Election Commission Director Lenice Shoemaker told The State that there has been a good voter turnout at her precincts.
As of 2:30 p.m., 15,569 ballots had been cast in Lexington County, according to Shoemaker.
“We’ve had longer lines than expected and are having a really good turnout,” Shoemaker said. “I think we’ll be busy tonight with people coming after work.”
Despite the significant amount of voters, everyone remained patient with the workers at the polls and the election commission headquarters, according to Shoemaker.
A lot of people had to go to the headquarters to resolve issues with changed addresses that didn’t match voter registration rolls at the precincts, Shoemaker said. But she said her staff worked with the voters to see that their information was accurately updated and ballots were cast.
Otherwise there were no major Election Day issues reported by Shoemaker, who said that all but one polling place opened on time, and that exception was quickly resolved and no residents missed the chance to vote.
Minor issues around the state
In Allendale County, someone tried to steal a polling book used to sign in voters at one precinct, according to John Michael Catalano with the State Election Commission.
State elections spokesman Chris Whitmire said the Allendale County man was known to wander the community and likely was trying to steal the polling book because it was something of value and not in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.
Elsewhere, in North Charleston, a man went to the Charleston County Election Commission headquarters in North Charleston, and when he was told he couldn’t cast his vote there told officials, “I demand to speak with someone and I have weapons,” Whitmire said.
He didn’t speak with anyone and left the building on a bicycle before he was stopped by North Charleston police officers. He was put on a no trespass notice, and there were no other issues, according to Whitmire.
Other than those two incidents, Whitmire said all other issues were what he would call “normal Election Day problems.”
What’s at stake
The 2022 midterm elections include races for U.S. Senate and House districts, governor, superintendent of education and various seats in the S.C. State House. Some of the statewide races of note include:
▪ Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, is seeking his second full term in the office, but is being challenged by Democrat Joe Cunningham.
▪ Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott seeks to return to Washington in a race against Democrat Krystle Matthews.
▪ Republican Ellen Weaver and Democrat Lisa Ellis are both vying to replace Molly Spearman in the race for South Carolina schools chief.
For a closer look at the races and propositions on the ballots in Richland and Lexington counties, check out The State’s voter guides.
Some votes are already in
South Carolina’s early voting period concluded Saturday, and the state Election Commission said 560,622 people cast ballots in the two weeks before the midterm election. As of Monday, another 54,283 voters had returned absentee ballots, for a total of 614,905 votes cast ahead of Election Day.
As of Oct. 21, there were 3,378,773 registered voters in South Carolina.
“Early voting has been a huge success,” Chris Whitmire, deputy executive director of the South Carolina Election Commission, previously told The State. “Spreading the total number of voters across more than two weeks lessens the stress on the process, reducing issues and helping ensure every voter has the opportunity to vote,” he said.
On Monday, Shoemaker said absentee ballots are still being accepted at the election commission office, but will not be counted if dropped off at a polling place. Additionally, anyone who registered to vote via absentee ballot will not be able to vote in person on Election Day.
Vote totals and results
Vote totals will be reported throughout the day, but results won’t be available until after the polls close.
Even then, the results will not be official until they are certified by county boards of voter registration and elections. That might not happen until Friday, even though the outcomes of some of the races might be one sided.
South Carolina has automatic recounts in runoff elections if the margin between the winning and losing candidate is 1% or less of the total votes cast for that office, according to the Associated Press.
Weather forecast
Unlike the primary elections earlier this year when temperatures soared, the weather should not be a deterrent to voters Tuesday.
It’s expected to be a nice day with sunny conditions and a possible high temperature of 74 degrees in the Columbia area, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
No rain is expected, but there could be some wind gusts that are as powerful as 23 mph, the forecast shows.
To help residents get to the polls, COMET is providing passengers voting free rides to the polls.
Stephen Pastis and Hanah Watts of the University of South Carolina School of Journalism contributed reporting.
This is a developing story, it will be updated throughout the course of the day.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 7:03 AM.
