PoliTick-Tock

November elections on the chopping block

South Carolina might have to scramble to figure out how to pay for November elections now that new economic figures are showing that South Carolina made even less than previously expected during the fiscal year that ended in June, a state representative said today.

The Board of Economic Advisors revised their predictions again on Monday.

S.C. Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, said the money is going to have to come from somewhere, and the supplemental budget - which includes funding for the November elections - is likely to be cut drastically, if not completely.

South Strand Republican Club picnic

The South Strand Republican Club held its annual picnic at the Burgess Community Center on S.C. 707 in Murrells Inlet. A few pictures are posted in the Neighbors galleries sections, where you can find photos of your neighbors at various community events. In attendance on Saturday were a slew of local politicians, and some people who hope to soon be local politicians, a.k.a. candidates.

Check them out here.

Lowcountry boil and stump set

The Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce's annual "Lowcountry Boil and Stump" is slated for Aug. 4.

The event, presented in conjunction with the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors, will be 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the lawn at East Bay Park in Georgetown.

All candidates, from all levels of government, on the November ballot have been invited to attend. Each candidate will have three minutes on the "stump", but will also be meeting and greeting the crowd throughout the evening.

The event is free to the community. A lowcountry boil, dessert and beverages will be available for $5 per person.

Representatives from the local chapters of the League of Women Voters, Kids Voting USA, the Republican Party, the Democratic Party and the Election Commission will also be there. For registration call Rhonda Housand at 546-8436.

Sen. Elliott to speak to Beach Dems

Sen. Dick Elliott will speak to Beach Democrats on Friday at the group's monthly breakfast at 8 a.m. at Akel's Family Restaurant at 6429 N. Kings Highway.

The buffet breakfast will cost $7, and no reservations are required.

For more information, contact Sally Howard at 449-1936.

Democratic club to meet in MB

The Grand Strand Horry Democratic Club will meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Magnolia's Restaurant, 2605 N. Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach.

For more information, call 455-8226 or e-mail beacat@sc.rr.com.

Presidential politics vs. the markets

At the next meeting of the South Strand Republican Club, a team of brokers from Merrill Lynch will discuss their views on the potential market implications of this year's Presidential elections.

The speakers will cover topics from energy prices to the falling dollar and the possibilities of recession or inflation, with a question-and-answer session.

The meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, at the Horry Georgetown Technical College Grand Strand Conference and Business Center Building 600, 950 Meyers Ave., on the grounds of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

Light refreshments will be served, and the public is invited. For more information, call Joanne Sanders, 283-6846.

Hearn to address MB GOP Monday

George Hearn, the Conway attorney who nearly secured an open state legislative seat in a four-way contest Tuesday night, will speak at the next meeting of the Myrtle Beach Republican Club.

Hearn took 49 percent of the vote, leaving him just a handful of ballots away from an outright win. The second-place vote-getter, Kevin Hardee, has endorsed Hearn, meaning a runoff opportunity now falls to Conway City Councilman Randy Alford, the third-place vote getter in the House of Representatives District 105 race.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. Monday at The Boathouse Waterway Bar and Grill, 201 Outlet Blvd., Myrtle Beach.

For more information, call Mary Henry, 444-4364 or email myrtlebeachrepublicanclub@gmail.com.

The scene in Socastee

With nine voting machines positioned under an array of flags, Socastee High School had seen 254 voters by about 4 p.m., out of the more than 3,000 registered to vote there.

Different voters were drawn by different races. One woman who said she was a teacher but declined to give her name said she was there to vote for Republican Helen Smith, because she opposes incumbent state Rep. Thad Viers' support for private-school vouchers.

Jack Estep said his interest was in the county treasurer's race, and he had been attracted by Benji Allen's advertising campaign.

``I like his commercial that says you shouldn't have to press `one' for English. I live in America, and I'm calling in America,'' Estep said. ``And to vote against Lindsey Graham. He's not doing a very good job."

As in other precincts, with only two races on the Democratic ballot, few signed up to vote in that primary. The 33rd Democratic voter to show up at Socastee High School was Jason Holstein, who said he didn't know any of the names on his ballot. An anti-Bush voter, he said he was just showing up as part of his civic duty, and just picked two names off the four on the ballot.

``I'm looking forward to November, if we can just get some Democrats out to vote,'' Holstein said.

No problems were reported through the day, as poll workers praised the Board of Elections' preparation -- and the Subway sandwiches for lunch.

``They fed us for free,'' said poll worker Donna Smith, as the other poll workers erupted in laughter. ``That was exciting.''

With three hours of voting left, poll manager Beverly Seibert said she needed about 60 more voters to reach 10 percent turnout, the usual proportion for a local primary. 
``And that's pathetic,'' Seibert said.

Few cast ballots in Horry's District 4

The turnout at two precincts in Horry County's District 4 was low on Tuesday, even though there was a slew of federal and local primaries on the ballot, poll workers said.

Incumbent Republican Councilman Mike Ryan was facing a challenge from Gary Loftus for his Horry County Council seat. Primaries for the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate and the county coroner and treasurer positions were also on the ballot.

At the Marlowe precinct at St. James High School, 355 people cast their ballots by 5 p.m. in a precinct that had 3,500 voters, said Jack Gregory, a poll worker. The precinct was only using six of its thirteen voting machines, he said.

"It looks like overkill, but when you boil it down you've got to get ready for the onslaught," Gregory said. "This is good practice for November."

Gregory also said the legs on two of the machines were defective and poll workers had to fix them before voting began. Jon Bonsignor, the president of the South Strand Republican Club and the poll clerk for the precinct, said the machines opened at 7:45 a.m., 45 minutes late.

He said 15 people voted on paper ballots before the machines were ready. Bonsignor said he thought more people would vote, especially because of the heated campaign between Ryan and Loftus, but said negative campaigning in all area races may have turned people away.

"People were turned off from the negative campaigning," he said. "Each candidate running for office was criticizing the other and they weren't talking about the issues."

At the Burgess 2 precinct, which is partly in District 4, about 270 people -- or about 8.5 percent of voters -- had cast ballots by 5 p.m. The precinct has 3,200 registered voters, said David Patrick, the poll clerk.

"I'd hoped there'd be more," he said. "You hate to see your numbers below 10 percent. But as a primary, it's not surprising. Disappointing, but not surprising."

Sheilagh Nye, 76, who voted at the Marlowe precinct with her husband, Bruce, did not say who she cast her ballot for. But she indicated that she was disappointed with the way things were going in Washington, and her husband said he was worried about high gas prices.

Sheilagh Nye wondered aloud why the Bush Administration appeared loathe to say the country was in the midst of a recession.

"Nothing ever improves until you admit that it's wrong," said Nye, from Rochester, N.Y. "If the people in Washington admit it's wrong, they can make things right."

Voter turnout low at Little River precincts

Clerks at the Little River United Methodist Church, St. Paul A.M.E. Church, and American Legion Post 186, said voter turnout was pretty light by Tuesday afternoon. They expect it to be about the same throughout the day.

"We're lucky if we get 20 percent of the 1,200 registered voters," said Arthur Wobig, clerk at the Little River United Methodist Church.

Charles Randall, clerk at the St. Paul A.M.E. Church, said they had 159 people that voted out of 2,448 registered voters as of 2 p.m.

And workers at the American Legion Post 186 said they were seeing less than 10 percent of 1,293 registered voters Tuesday afternoon. "We're expecting an average turnout," said clerk Steven Batts.

As far as the voting machines, workers at Little River United Methodist had one machine out of five that didn't work, but they had it up and working in minutes before the polling place opened, Wobig said. Overall, clerks at the polling places said the machines worked smoothly.

One thing of concerned for voters was confusion as to who and what races were on the ballot for them to vote for.

Workers said they had people asking why candidates such as Liz Gilland was not on the ballot, not realizing she's not in their precinct. Gilland, the Horry County Council Chairwoman, is running against Luke Rankin and Howard Bond in the Senate District 33 race.

Several voters also were expecting to see the issue of incorporating Little River on the ballot. More than 1,000 registered voters would need to sign a petition before the incorporation issue could be placed on a ballot for a vote.

Bright red firehouse

At Myrtlewood #2 polling place in the Myrtle Beach Fire and Rescue station on 38th Avenue, 141 of the precinct's 1,417 registered voters had dropped in by noon.

That pace is "reasonable," said poll manager Ed Munns, for a primary with only a handful of contested races.

Of the 141 voters, only 12 were Democrats, which poll workers in part explained by pointing at the ballot. Republicans had five races to choose from, while Democrats only had two races to cast ballots for -- both of which were full of little-known challengers to federal races.

Of the handful of voters that came in around the noon hour, none wanted to give their names to a reporter for The Sun News. One man wondered aloud who the sitting coroner was -- Robert Edge, he was told -- then noted that if there were problems with him, police officers would be complaining.

Another woman said she was there to vote for three Republicans: "Luke (Rankin), Roddy Dickinson and the coroner."

Finally, a 13th Democrat showed up, though she also declined to give her name to a reporter. She was dismayed, she said, by how few Democrats were on the ballot.

"I guess," she said with a sigh, "I'll just wait 'till fall."

Turnout high in District 9, poll workers say

About noon on Tuesday, Harry Jernigan glanced at a list of voters in the one-room building that was the Jernigan's Crossroads precinct in District 9. He's been a poll worker here for at least 10 years, he said, partly because the precinct bears his last name.

"For us, it's been better this morning than normal," said Jernigan, adding that about 55 people had cast ballots in the precinct, where 500 were registered.

"If we get half of them, we'll do good," said Albert Lewis, 81, another poll worker who was seated on a faded chair.

Jernigan, 73, used to run a country store in the building, which now held dusty furniture and had insulation tearing from the roof. Across the road were wheat fields and a crumbling wooden barn.

Poll workers at the Ebenezer precinct and the East Loris precinct also said they were seeing high numbers of voters. Incumbent Councilman Paul Prince is running against challenger Mark Causey in the Republican primary, and Ulysses DeWitt and Brian Johnson are facing off in the Democratic primary.

"We've had one of the best turnouts here ever," said Shirley Martin, a poll manager in the East Loris precinct. "Three hundred and thirty-five voted here in 2006, and we've already had 152 this morning."

At the Ebenezer precinct, poll manager Sylvia Housand said about 130 people had voted by 12:30 p.m., and she was expecting more in the evening. The precinct has about 1,200 voters, she said.

"We always vote," said Pam Dalby, who moved here from Connecticut nearly four years ago, after casting her ballot at the Ebenezer precinct. "It's our right as an American."

Josh Dawsey contributed reporting.

Early polling light in Green Sea

About 40 people cast their ballots in Horry County's Green Sea precinct by 10 a.m. Tuesday, and poll clerk Sara Quinto said she was surprised that more people had not voted.

"We thought there'd be more," said Quinto, adding that about 750 people are registered in the precinct. "But it's still early. It's only 10."

Everything was going smoothly so far, she said.

"The central office did a super job to make sure everything was running," Quinto said. "They checked and double checked."

The voting occurred in a county fire station on S.C. 917. Minette Lovett, another poll worker who has been volunteering for about 10 years, said she felt that it was her "civic duty" to help ensure the election goes off without a hitch.

It's also fun, she said, because she knows most of the voters who come in to cast their ballots.

"That's my neighbor," she said as one voter walked in.

The early morning heat did not deter Ronald and Sherry Shelley from casting their ballots. The couple said they always try and vote in elections, even in primaries for local offices, which typically have a lower turnout than national elections.

"If you don't speak now, you shouldn't say anything later," said Ronald Shelley, 65.

Most polling places running smoothly

Most polling places were running smoothly Tuesday, according to early reports, although a few minor problems were reported.

With close to 700 newly-trained poll workers and 118 different places to vote in across a vast county, a “few hiccups here and there” can be expected on primary day, Horry County Public Information Officer Lisa Bourcier said.

Voters reported early morning glitches such as voting machines not immediately up and running and the delayed opening of one polling place.

Some concerns may be due to voter confusion about their district or why a candidate’s name does not appear on the ballot. Republican Bob Grabowski, for example, would not appear on the ballot since he is running unopposed for County Council #6.

St. James H.S. voters revert to paper ballots

The early voters at St. James High School were offered paper ballots Tuesday. Voting machines weren’t working until about 7:30 a.m. “We’re getting the machines cranked up, but you can vote on paper,” a volunteer told the early voters.

One voter reported getting the wrong paper ballot, but it’s unclear if other voters also encountered that problem.

Voter stream slow, no machine problems in NMB

By 8 a.m. this morning, about 15 voters had come through the door at the Crescent precinct poll in North Myrtle Beach. Poll worker Jean Boseman said she expected today's voter turnout to be a bit on the slow side.

Workers also reported that the electronic voting machines were running smoothly. Volunteer Bill Mullin said he makes sure to reiterate to folks that they have three chances to change their mind before they vote with the electronic ballot.

"The biggest problem is people's fear of touch screens," he said. "They only time you ever see one is if you're using a debit card."

He says walking through each step with the voters has been helpful.

"If you do that with everybody, we have less problems."

"They're getting more used to it," added poll worker Sandy Bruce. "It's such a long time in between when they use it. They don't remember from one time to the next."

Reuniting at the polls

Crescent precinct poll workers Jean Boseman and Levon McSwain go back - way back.

"We worked together about 55 years ago at the Highway Patrol," said Boseman, 73.

"I enjoyed that job," said McSwain, chatting with Boseman about their time in Raleigh, N.C.

After leaving the job and moving to the North Myrtle Beach area in 1989, Boseman spotted McSwain's name in an article in The Sun News a few years ago, looked her up in the phone book and rekindled their friendship.

"I said, 'Come work with me at the polls,'" said Boseman, a volunteer for nearly 20 years. McSwain soon joined her and the two friends have since worked at Crescent precinct on Possum Trot Road in North Myrtle Beach.

Pancakes for Loftus

Gary Loftus, Republican challenger to District 4 incumbent County Councilman Mike Ryan, will have a meet and greet with voters over free pancakes Saturday.

The event runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Breakfast Klub at the intersection of Highway 707 and Salem Road, across from St. James High School.

Viers to host BBQ

Thad Viers, a state representative running for re-election in the June 10 Republican primary in District 68, will host a barbeque at the Forestbrook Clubhouse at 1100 Forestbrook Road on Saturday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Bluegrass music will also be performed, according to an e-mail from Russell Fry, Viers' campaign manager.

Viers is facing challenger Steven Neeves and Helen Smith in the Republican primary.

Fair Tax group plans debate, Viers to attend

A group that advocates repealing federal income and payroll taxes and replacing them with a national sales tax will host a debate on the issue at the Myrtle Beach Train Depot on June 12 at 7 p.m.

The Myrtle Beach Fair Tax Chapter is calling the debate the "first in the nation" on the issue, according to a press release.

Allen Jeffcoat, a local attorney, will argue the against repealing the federal income taxes while State Rep. Thad Viers, who is running for re-election this year, will argue for it. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact Cliff Abrams at 333-2711 or fairtaxwarrior@aol.com.