Moderate voter turnout predicted

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Primary elections 2010

Photos from Primary Election day, Tuesday June 8, 2010.

Covering the politics of the Lowcountry, South Carolina and the nation.

Just after the polls closed at 7 p.m., officials said voter turnout in South Carolina’s primary elections has been mostly moderate across the state but heavier in traditional Republican strongholds.

The State Election Commission noted that only between 18 percent and 26 percent of state voters have cast ballots in primary elections during the past 12 years -- almost three times lower than the turnout in November's general election.

This year seems to be no exception, said Chris Whitmire, public information officer with the commission.

Karen Floyd, chairwoman for the state Republican Party, said Republicans will come together when the “rough and tumble” primary is over. But Democrats say it will bring more people to their camp.

The primary is “an extension of the leadership” displayed by the Republicans, state Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler said today. She said the public is “edgy” about four more years of Republican control.

Floyd said, “What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.”

Turnout so far today is higher in some parts of the state than others, depending on the contests in those areas such as the competitive 1st and 3rd District Congressional seats, Floyd said.

Fowler said statewide the turnout is moderate, based on the reports she received.

In the Lowcountry, today's turnout may be relatively heavier in Berkeley County, which has a three-way Republican contest in the supervisor's race, as well as the gubernatorial, congressional and other statewide races.

In early reporting from Berkeley County, poll manager Lloyd McCabe at Goose Creek City Hall said that about 40 people had voted by 7:30 a.m. He says those numbers are high for a primary election and that he expects between 275 and 300 to vote at City Hall today, based on past primaries.

At the Hanahan 2 precinct at Hanahan Elementary, voter Bill Moorer said, "I want to vote against 90 percent of the people in office right now."

Virginia Rhett, casting her vote at the Hanahan 4 precinct at Hanahan Middle School, said she's unimpressed with candidates of both parties. "We need leaders in each party who put the welfare of the country ahead of the welfare of their party."

At Goose Creek City Hall, voter Don Kinard said he is most interested in the governor's race and the Berkeley County Supervisor race, but would have voted no matter what.

Richard Rubio of Mount Pleasant said he was most interested in the governor's race and the House District 112 race.

Rubio said he knew both challenger Joe Bustos and Rep. Mike Sottile and had a

hard time deciding which candidate would do the best job

Two voting machines are shut down at Daniel Island Elementary School, where four Berkeley County precincts vote, but it really hasn't affected voters, according to precinct workers. About three percent of registered voters had voted by about 11:30 a.m.

In Charleston County, workers at St. Andrews precincts 29, 30 and 31 at West Ashley High School report that about three percent of voters registered there have voted this morning. They say they anticipate about 15 percent of voters will have cast their ballots by the end of the day.

At James Island Charter High School, where voters from five precincts cast their ballots, workers report that about 400 people out of 6,000 registered voters have voted. They projected turnout for the day to be at about 30 percent of registered voters, or about 1,800 people.

At Burke High School, where Charleston County precincts 12 and 13 vote, workers said that 99 out of about 2,400 registered voters had cast ballots by about 11 a.m.

Voting also was slow Tuesday morning at Charleston 9, a mixed precinct at Charleston Progressive School at Meeting and Ann streets downtown. By 11:30 a.m., only 24 Democrats and 16 Republicans had voted. The precinct has 770 registered voters.

In Dorchester County, Ashborough precincts saw few people early on but reported 20 percent turnout by 3:30 p.m.

Officials there said they project turnout today to be similar to the turnouts for previous primaries, which would be about 500 voters.

About 230 out of 4,000 registered voters had cast a ballot at the Grace Lutheran Church on Old Trolley Road. And at the Dorchester Presbyterian Church, about 23 percent of registered voters had voted by 3 p.m.

In Berkeley County, Daniel Island Elementary School District 1 and District 2 said 3.5 percent of voters had voted by noon. Meanwhile, in Charleston County, 11 percent of registered voters had cast a ballot by 12:30 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant

Town Hall.

At James Island Charter High school, 16 percent of registered voters had voted by 5 p.m. West Ashley High School reported 11.4 percent turnout by around 4 p.m.

Burke High downtown reported 10.5 percent turnout by 5:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Rutledge Memorial Baptist reported 8.9 percent voter turnout, and Joseph Floyd Manor reported 6.7 percent turnout by 5:45 p.m.

The Charleston County Board of Elections and Voter Registration issued this statement to clear up confusion regarding runoffs scheduled for June 22:

• Voters must choose which political party’s primary they wish to vote in today.
• If you vote in Republican Primary on June 8, you may vote in Republican Run-Off on June 22.
• If you vote in Democratic Primary on June 8, you may vote in Democratic Run-Off on June 22.
• If you do not vote at all on June 8, you may vote in either party’s run-off on June 22.

Around the state, results on voter turnout were mixed.

• Polls in York County have seen plenty of voter interest. All 89 York County precincts opened on schedule with no problems.

"It's been a steady stream, but not overwhelming," York County Elections and Registration Director Wanda Hemphill said. "Certainly it's not the level of the 2008 presidential election."

Even during the morning surge, lines were typically less than five or six people deep, Hemphill said.

It's too early to predict voter turnout, but organizers say primaries are typically lighter than general elections.

The governor's race, however, could bring more people to the polls. For the first time since 1994 the state's top seat is wide open because Republican Gov. Mark Sanford can't run again.

• Also, early voters lined up outside the Cromer and Oakwood precincts in Lexington County as the doors opened at 7 a.m. By 7:30, 25 people has voted at Cromer and 40 at Oakwood, and there no longer was any wait to cast a ballot at either spot.

People also are reporting about polling place on Twitter: C.A Taylor Elementary School in Cayce has served about 20 Republican voters, and two Democratic voters. Another Twitter user reports some machines down at Carolina Forest Elementary School. We are checking on that and will report.

Some short lines have been reported at some Midlands voting locations, but turnout seems about typical for a primary election, according to poll workers.

At the Shandon Fire Station in Columbia's Ward 23, poll workers attributed short lines to confusion over multiple ballots for the Republican and Democratic primaries. By 11:30 a.m., 92 people had voted in Ward 23.

At Irmo High School, the voting was slow but steady, with less than 10 in line when the polls opened. By 11:30 a.m., 131 people had voted at the school.

Voters were getting in and out quickly at A.C. Moore Elementary in Columbia, where 259 had cast ballots by 10:30 a.m. That's 17 percent of the registered voters in that precinct.

• An hour after the polls opened in Georgetown and Horry counties officials said they had not received reports of any problems from precincts.

All opened without issues or problems with voting machines, according to officials in Horry and Georgetown counties.

"We're in good shape," said Dean Smith with Georgetown County voter's registration and election.

He said it was too early to speculate on turnout in the county.

But in Horry County, spokeswoman Lisa Bourcier said preliminary reports she had received showed decent turnout for the state and local Republican and Democratic primary.

• And, turnout was heavy in Greenville County in the opening hours of today's primary elections, as isolated glitches slowed voting in some precincts, the county's top election official said.

Election officials won't know until the end of the day if the early rush is a sign of strong overall turnout or a morning surge that will peter out by afternoon, said Conway Belangia, director of the county’s Election Commission.

Problems with machines slowed balloting at Riverside High in the Riverside precinct, and the polls opened about a half hour late at the Gilder Creek Farm Clubhouse in the Kilgore Farms precinct, he said.

In some cases, voters were going to the wrong the place to vote, Belangia said. The county’s 12 largest precincts have recently been split, Belangia said.

In the Riverside precinct, many voters showed up early, and some complained they had to wait about 30 minutes to vote, Belangia said. The lines have since dissipated, he said

About 10 of the county’s 700 machines were having problems, Belangia said.

"That is well within the normal range of problems," he said.

The problem in Kilgore Farms, he said, was that keys and materials were locked in a car.

"We had to wait for AAA to show up to unlock the car so we could get the materials out," he said.

The precinct will not remain open late, Belangia said.

What you need to bring

Voters must present either a signed S.C. voter registration card, a valid S.C. driver's license or a photo ID issued by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

They can vote in either the Democratic or the Republican primary, not both.

Weather forecast

Skies should be mostly sunny with morning temperatures in the 60s and climbing to the mid to upper 80s during the day. There's little chance of rain.

Gubernatorial post-primary parties

COLUMBIA — Candidates for governor will gather with supporters after the polls close tonight at parties across the state.

Most of the gatherings begin at 7 p.m. Democratic state Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston won't host a party tonight. He said it is his tradition to spend election nights alone to mediate on the results.

Here are their plans:

• Republicans

U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett: Innovate Building, 148 River Street, Greenville.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer: Copper River Grill, 775 Haywood Road, Greenville.

S.C. Rep. Nikki Haley: Capital City Club, 1201 Main Street, Columbia.

S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster: The Back Porch, 1616 Gervais Street,Columbia.

• Democrats

S.C. Superintendent of Education Jim Rex: Wet Willie's, 800 Gervais Street, Columbia

S.C. Sen. Vincent Sheheen: Teneleven in the Galleria, 1011 Broad Street, Camden.

Election

Go to postandcourier.com throughout Election Day for updates about all the races and news from local polling places. Send your news and photos to newstips@postandcourier.com and tweet using the hashtag #scpol.

Reporters Jessica Johnson, Melvin Backman and Yvonne Wenger contributed to this report. The Spartanburg Herald-Journal and The State also contributed to this report.