Pee Dee gears up for Republican, Democratic presidential primaries

Election officials in Florence and Darlington counties are expecting voter turnouts for the coming presidential preference primaries to be similar to the bump in turnout that was seen in 2008.

The Republican primary will be held on Feb. 20, the Democratic primary one week later on Feb. 27.

In the 2008 presidential primaries, more Democrats showed up to vote for Barack Obama -- who carried all Pee Dee counties by a large margin.

David Alford, Florence County Voter Registration and Election director, said he expects voter turnout in February to be similar to 2008, but skewed more toward Republicans rather than Democrats.

“In ’08 primaries we had a little over 25 percent Democrat voter turnout that was driven by Obama, and about 19 percent for the Republicans,” Alford said. “This year I have a feeling we might have a flip.”

Alford said the tough part about preparing for presidential primaries isn’t the size of the candidate field. It’s having two primaries just one week apart.

The 42,000 voters in Darlington County typically lean toward the Democrats’ side. Hoyt Campbell, Election Commission director for the county, said he also expects a higher Republican turnout in next month’s primaries.

“We’re a little more Democratic over here,” Campbell said. “Obama won both the 2008 and the 2012 primary in Darlington but it’s always very close.”

Campbell said in the 2012 primaries roughly 4,800 Republicans voted and 8,900 Democrats voted, but he think those numbers will change this year.

“I’d say we’re looking at about 6,000 voters for each primary in this county,” he said. “More Republicans will probably show up to vote and more Democrats will stay home.”

Both Campbell and Alford said the turnout for a presidential primary is much lower than the turnout for a general election.

Primary Voting

South Carolina's primaries are considered "open primaries,” which means registered voters can participate on either day -- regardless of their typical political affiliation.

This means a registered Republican can place a vote in the Democratic race and a Democrat can vote for a Republican candidate. A voter, however, cannot vote in both primaries.

Although the deadline has passed for first-time voters to register for eligibility to vote in the primaries, already registered voters are eligible.

Register to Vote

Eligible voters need a valid South Carolina driver's license or a state-issued identification card to register. Registration is closed for each election 30 days prior to that particular election.

As long as registrants will be 18 years old on or before the official election date, they can register and vote in any primary.

Online applications must be submitted on or before the deadline to be valid for any specific election. Fax and email applications must be received by the voter registration office by the deadline to be valid for a particular election.

Those declared mentally incompetent, those convicted of a felony or offenses against the election laws or those currently serving a prison sentence are not eligible to register.

Florence County Voter Registration is at 219 Third Loop Road in Florence, and can be contacted at 843-665-3094. Darlington County Elections and Registrations is at 131 Cashua Street in Darlington, and can be contacted at 843-398-4900.