Election Day: Polls packed in Pawleys

Pawleys Island, S.C. — The rainy weather did not keep voters away from the polls in Georgetown County on Tuesday morning as there were lines in most precincts before voting began at 7 a.m.
The skies cleared by midday and the huge numbers at the polls continued.
While the presidential race was the big draw, local races such as the new District 7 Congressional seat, S.C. House Seat 103, County Auditor, County Treasurer, Clerk of Court and school board races also enticed people to get out and vote.
Another issue on voter’s minds was the one-percent capital improvement sales tax referendum.

Early tallies

With 28 of 34 Georgetown County precincts reporting as of 8:50 p.m.:
President: Mitt Romney 10,539; Barack Obama 9,811.
7th Congressional District: Tom Rice 11,624; Gloria Bromell Tinubu: 10,118.
House District 103: Carl Anderson 7,067; Tom Winslow 2,067.
Clerk of Court: Alma White 10,227; Tammie Avant 6,782.
County Council District 5: Austin Beard 873; Bubba Grimes 593; Ben Dunn 375.
Auditor: Brian Shult 6,802; Kathy Harrelson 6,578; Rod Stalvey 1,460.
School Board District 5: Elery Little 1,128; Murray Vernon 734.
School Board District 6: Richard Kerr 1,183; Peggy Wheeler-Cribb 1,180.
One-cent sales tax referendum: No 10,371; Yes 8,337.
(For more up-to-date results, visit the Georgetown Times website at www.gtowntimes.com.)

Heavy turnout

Voters in the Black River precinct cast ballots at Prevailing Purpose Church on Wedgefield Road. The church sanctuary was packed with voters waiting for the polls to open at 7 a.m.
Jason Barrier arrived at about 6:10 a.m. and was the first to cast a ballot at that location.
He said he wanted to vote early because he has a full workload on Tuesday.
At Pawleys Island Precinct 1, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, the line stretched from inside the building through the parking lot at times.
But not everyone waited until Tuesday to cast a ballot. By Monday’s deadline 8,572 Georgetown County residents had either voted absentee or had requested an absentee ballot, according to Voter Registration director Donna Mahn.
There are about 40,000 registered voters in Georgetown County.

Some problems

While most of the voting went off without a hitch in the county, there were some problems reported throughout the day.
At 7:55 a.m., Ryan Port said the voting machines were not working for people who live outside the Andrews town limits but vote at the National Guard Armory. The problem was later fixed.
• One of the four voting machines at Kensington Elementary was not working early but was repaired by 9:30 a.m.
• At 9 a.m., Stephanie Altman said some people in the Bethel precinct, which votes at the fire station near the 9 Mile Curve, were told their names are not on the rolls at that location.
She said the people who live on Gapway Road, who have always voted in that precinct, were told they have to go to Andrews or Potato Bed Ferry to vote.
Poll manager Billy Coleman said the names of five or six voters were not on the list in that precinct but by late morning the problem was rectified and the impacted voters were notified and told they could return and cast a ballot.
• Eileen Johnson said she was given the wrong ballot when she voted in the Pennyroyal precinct which is split between State House seats 108 and 103. She said she questioned the poll manager and the problem was corrected.
“I wonder how many might have been given the wrong ballot and because they don’t know what district they vote in, voted in the wrong race,” she said.
• Some Waccamaw High School students who filled out registration forms in late September were turned away from polling places because their names weren’t on the rolls.

By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com