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.

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.

Poll worker shortage

The Horry County Voter Registration Office is about 60 poll workers short to cover all of the precincts during the June 10 Primary and the possible June 24 runoff.

A training for poll workers will be held from 1-4 p.m. Monday, June 2 at the Horry County administrative building in Conway. Workers are paid $60 for the training and $60 for working on election day.

If you're interested in working, call Kim at 915 8530. The precincts that need help as of Thursday are as follows:

Are you a Democrat and need money for college?

The Democratic Women's Council of Horry County is offering $4,000 in college scholarships to the top three writers of an essay entitled "Why American Needs a Democrat in the White House."

The deadline for submissions has been extended to April 15. For additional information, go to www.horrydemocrats.org or call Milly Vaughn at 448-2166.

We're not the only ones with problems

Voting problems in Hoboken, N.J. - eerily similar to Horry's problems - nearly delayed the N.J. governor's attempt to vote this morning on Super Tuesday.

And in Chicago, Oprah helped clarify the rules.

Then, the really heartbreaking stuff: Dozens of overeager voters in Wisconsin today showed up to vote. A couple weeks early. Their primary is Feb. 19. (Makes you wonder if anyone tried to vote in Horry.)

From ABC News:

Super Tuesday watching party

A primary-watching party in Socastee is planned for this coming "Super Tuesday," when more than 20 states hold primaries.

The party will be begin at 6:30 p.m. at Pub-N-Grub, 3901 Dick Pond Road, Myrtle Beach, said Patty Hampton, a member of the Horry County Democrats. It may run late, Hampton said, because polls close much later in West Coast states such as California.

"Just because our primary is over, doesn't mean the election is over," Hampton said.

Local party officials have been invited, and the notice will be posted on the state Democratic party's Web site, Hampton said.

Voter flow steady in Pawleys Island

"When we opened the door at 7 o'clock, there must have been at least 10 people out there," said Waccamaw Neck Library poll worker Phyllis Bieger.

Bieger's fellow Pawleys Island poll workers said they were delighted with the consistent crowd of voters. They estimated their turnout to be around 100 voters shortly before 10 a.m.

"We've had lots of people filling out change of address forms," said poll manager Rita Smith. "It's good to catch that before November."

Smith said poll workers ensured that voters were aware which primary election they were voting in to avoid confusion.

"We want them to know before they get over there," she said, pointing to the small bank of electronic voting machines.

"For the most part, it's been smooth. Thank God for small miracles!"

Official: No problem with voting machines

As the first ballots were cast at 7 a.m. this morning, Horry County officials reported no problems with voting machines in the South Carolina Democrat Primary.

By 8:30 a.m. officials at several polling sites around Conway and Myrtle Beach also reported no problems.

"Everything is going wonderful," said Sandy Martin, Horry County's registration and elections director. "It's definitely going better this week."

Poll workers at several area sites also reported good turnout among voters.

"We've already got more people now than we had by 10 o'clock last Saturday," said JoAnn Stewart, a poll worker at the Homewood precinct. "It's going perfect."

Cookies, crayons come with votes

"If you want to color, we have crayons and coloring books over there," said poll worker Connee Merwin, pointing to the far left corner of the sign-in table as voters entered the Grand Strand Church of Christ polling site in Surfside Beach.

Along with a creative outlet, voters and their children can choose two other freebies: chocolate chip cookies and purple slips of paper with the Horry County Voter Registration phone number.

Merwin said she printed the slips out on her home computer just in case voters had questions while at the polls. She also said she and her fellow volunteers were more than prepared for today's Democratic primary after working through last week's Republican primary voting machine problems.

"This time, we came with reams of paper, 1,000 envelopes, tape," she said.

No machine problems in Surfside Beach

Voters trickling into the Lakewood Elementary School polling site in Surfside Beach found electronic voting machines up and working well at 7 a.m., much to the relief of poll workers.

''We're smiling,'' said poll worker Marion MacDonald. "I prayed hard. As long as I've done this, 14 years, we've never had problems with this."

Coffee percolated in one corner of the school's cafeteria, while snacks lined a table behind the voter sign-in station.

"We hope it goes better today," said poll worker Elaine Steiner.