Voters had good cheer, perseverance

A study in patience, soggy and stoic Lowcountry voters endured waits of up to five hours Tuesday to cast their votes in an election many considered the most important of their lifetime.

Most shrugged off the drizzle and delays, saying they were duty-bound to cast their ballots. They opened umbrellas, paged through books, made new friends. The mood remained surprisingly cheerful.

"In some countries, you wait this long for toilet paper and bread," said 31-year-old Jeff Yurfest, who waited three hours at Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant.

Voters swarmed to polling places early, some showing up before the poll workers. The line snaked around the corner of Charleston's Burke High School at 5:15 a.m. and stayed steady.

"They were a formidable group, they were to be reckoned with and they didn't stop coming," Burke poll manager Barbara G. Holmes said.

While the lines of voters at Burke had slowed to a trickle by the time polls closed at 7 p.m., other sites were still under siege. At College Park Middle School in Ladson and Goose Creek High School, hundreds reportedly still waited more than an hour after polls closed.

State election officials projected the turnout could set a new record, which didn't surprise many. "This is the biggest election I've ever seen, and I've worked every one since Jimmy Carter got elected," said Wanda Browder, a poll manager at West Ashley High School.

The day was not without problems.

More than 70 voters waited in line at West Ashley Middle School, the precinct listed on their registration cards, only to learn that they were actually supposed to vote miles away at the Jewish Community Center. Some grew angry, and police were called. Authorities arranged transportation to get the voters to the proper spot, Eugenia Felder, precinct clerk at the Jewish center said.

Reports also surfaced of College of Charleston students turned away from some polling places when they presented student ID cards for identification. That issue was later resolved, College of Charleston Dean of Students Jeri Cabot said.

Several precincts in Charleston County had problems with individual voting machines, including Joseph Floyd Manor in Charleston, where waits approached five hours.

"I've only seen one person drop out," said Gustavious Simmons, who waited four hours.

The problems inspired grumbling but also good will. At Goose Creek High School, people passed out crackers and water to tired voters. And at the W.L. Stephens Aquatic Center in West Ashley, those enduring a four-hour wait applauded each person who emerged with an "I Voted" sticker.

In Charleston, a young Canadian woman brought chocolate-chip cookies to voters stuck in a three-hour line outside the Moultrie Playground. "I can't vote, so this is how I'll do my part," said Emily Cooney, 25.