Colleton Now

Certified

The Colleton County Elections Commission certified 42 of the 66 provisional and fail-safe ballots it reviewed Friday.

The certified ballots had no impact on any of the local elections. Paul Haase's lead over incumbent Rachel Farris in School District 4 remained a slim 23 votes.

The "yes" votes in favor of the water and sewer authority for Colleton County increased the lead over no votes by four. In all, the referendum was approved by 44 votes.

If you're wondering why votes were tossed out, here's the breakdown:

• 9 people voted who were not registered voters

• 15 were absentee ballots not witnessed or signed by an official

The ones that were certified:

• 3 absentee ballots mistakenly included in the pile of those not witnessed

• 28 paper ballots

• 4 people voted in a precinct other than their own. Races not in their district were eliminated.

• 7 fail-safe ballots cast by people who changed their address without notifying the commission.

(Caption: Above, members of the election commission tally up the votes from provisional ballots.)

Don't Forget

Colleton County's first-ever Veterans Day Parade and the dedication of the Veterans Victory House state nursing home take place Saturday morning.

The parade begins at 8:50 a.m. at Jefferies Boulevard.

The dedication ceremony will begin at 11:30 a.m. at 2461 Sidneys Road, Walterboro. Gov. Mark Sanford and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, among others, are expected to speak.

The public is encouraged to attend.

More Election Stuff

I'll have a thorough wrap-up on all Colleton County races in Thursday's Post and Courier.

If, like me, you can't get enough election info, the state Election Commission has released all of the unofficial results for every race in the state.

The results in the District 120 race were especially interesting: Colleton voters chose Dr. Joe Flowers over incumbent Bill Bowers 3,138 votes to 2,667.

But Hampton County voters made the difference, despite the fact there were fewer of them. Bowers won the Democratic county with 2,591 votes to Flowers' 558.

The Official Unofficial Results

According to unofficial results:

• Rep. Bill Bowers beat Dr. Joe Flowers in the District 120 race. Flowers had more votes in Colleton County but Bowers dominated in Hampton County. 

• District 121 Rep. Kenneth Hodges defeated challenger Bobby Mayes.

• Colleton County Councilman Gene Whetsell beat challenger Ryan Still.

• The closest race of all was in Colleton County School Board District 4, where Cottageville Assistant Police Chief Paul Haase defeated incumbent Rachel Farris by 23 votes.

• John Barnes and Wayne Shider easily won re-election with at least 55 percent of the vote in their races.

• Both Colleton referendums passed: By a difference of 40 votes, the county gained the right to a water and sewer authority and Edisto Beach approved the purchase of 3 acres of land by a margin of about 34 votes.

Read all these stories NOW at the Post and Courier mothership.

Here's the numbers for the Colleton County races:

Public Invited To Wait On Results

Colleton County Director of Voter Registration David Alford says the County Council chambers above the old jail will be open tonight for anyone who wants to wait on the election results.

Alford said the latest results will be hand-written on a dry erase board. It will be reminiscent of the old days - say two years ago - when the results were posted electronically in the courthouse. The courthouse is under renovation.

If you want to wait at home, you can  find local and state results at the Post and Courier mothership and local results, and perhaps some analysis, here.

Also, if you haven't voted yet you might want  to do your homework before you do. Alford said many people are taking a lot of time reading the referendum questions, contributing to the long lines.

Rain? What Rain?

So you thought rain was going to keep people away from the polls, huh?

Silly you.

Turns out rain doesn't appear to be much of a hindrance.

Long lines were much more of an inconvenience than the nonstop downpour at Walterboro 4 precinct.

Attorney Bert Duffie, who is also a Colleton County elections commissioner, said when he arrived to vote at 10 a.m. the lines were well backed up.

Duffie recommended they split the precinct in half (by last name)and bring in more machines, increasing the number from five to nine. People in line were still reporting waits of about 45 minutes to an hour as they waited for the new machines to go online.

Above, Duffie (mildly protesting having his picture taken - sorry, Bert but the news must go on) and Moultrie Plowden move a machine to a new room to help move the lines quicker at Forest  Hills Elementary School.

Rain, Rain ...

It's pouring outside and that's typically bad news for election turnout.

Not only has it been raining for each one of my waking hours this morning, it's supposed to go on all day, non-stop until about 6. That's when the thunderstorms are really expected to kick in. No joke.

So you may want to go vote and get it over with. Don't let a little rain disenfranchise you.

I'll try to get an update later on turnout.

Go Vote

You know the candidates, you know the issues and if you read our stunning Colleton County elections page in Sunday's paper you know where to vote.

If not, the special elections website is still up with plenty of local stories.

So go to it.

Be sure to check back here once the polls close because I'll be posting the results as soon as I can and possibly some other behind the scenes facts and analysis if I get a chance.

Should be a fun night.

Edisto Project Gets $2-Million Grant

Edisto Beach Mayor Burley Lyons said the South Carolina Conservation Bank has awarded the town a $2 million grant if residents vote Tuesday to purchase the Bell Buoy Seafood Market for $4 million.

The town hopes to buy the 3 acres of oceanfront property to conserve it and lease the business to a private shrimper.

I just finished writing a story about this and the county's ballot referendum asking for a water and sewer authority that should run Friday so forgive me for not repeating myself.

Just check out the Post and Courier in the coming days.

McCain Out; Sanford, Graham Still In

U.S. Sen. John McCain's withdrawal from the Veterans Victory House dedication ceremony was so sudden that it's likely his name will still be on the programs come Nov. 11.

Dedication Committee Chairman Bernard Warshaw said that while he's still trying to convince McCain to change his mind again, he's not going to try and lure another national name.

One reason is because there's a bunch of big names on the program who are still expected to show up: Gov. Mark Sanford, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and U.S. Congressmen James Clyburn and Henry Brown, among others.

No doubt McCain's acceptance helped draw some others in, but so far no one else has backed out.

So even if you're not these readers, there's still reason to enjoy the event.