Local Election News

• Sulka next Bluffton mayor, according to unofficial results; Wetmore calls for investigation
  Unofficial election results posted at 1 a.m. this morning indicate Lisa Sulka is the winner in the Bluffton mayoral election. Her opponent, Charlie Wetmore, is calling for an investigation into alleged voter problems on Election Day at Bluffton precincts.

• No winners yet in Bluffton council race, says elections director
  The results of the Bluffton Town Council election likely will not be known until Friday morning, Beaufort County elections director Agnes Garvin said this afternoon.

• Keyserling likely Beaufort's next mayor
  With 87 of 89 precincts reporting, Billy Keyserling appears to have won the race to be Beaufort’s next mayor.

• County elections set new record
  Late Tuesday, local officials were predicting record turnout after a day’s worth of long lines and packed polling places.

• Seen and heard around town on Election Day
  Some local politicians didn’t have to worry about whether they’d still have their jobs after Tuesday’s election. They were the lucky ones, with no challengers.

• Tom Davis wins Senate District 46 seat
  BEAUFORT — A hard-fought — and expensive — road to Columbia for Tom Davis ended Tuesday night with the Beaufort attorney easily winning the District 46 seat in the state Senate amid complaints from Lady’s Island and Beaufort residents that they received the wrong ballot.

• Unopposed, 3 school board members reelected
  The theme of this year’s school board elections? Continuity.

• Woman goes into labor at Hilton Head Island voting site
  The Hilton Head Island election office got a surprise -- and hurried -- visitor today, when a woman showed up ready to vote while she was going into labor.

• Sign, sign, everywhere a sign! say local political parties about last-minute campaigning
  It's the final push for local political activists who've been donating their time and energy to the campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama.

• Bluffton candidates differ on growth issues
  The Bluffton mayoral and town council candidates agreed on a lot of issues at a forum at town hall Monday night, but there were differences between some of them on growth issues.

• Elections office: Voters who got ballots without directions have been notified
  The Beaufort County Elections Office said it has contacted all the people it could reach who received ballots without voting directions, but at least three people say they have not been called.

• Incumbent Wilson faces biggest test of his career
  The Packet will publish daily stories through Election Day on all the ballot issues in southern Beaufort County. For previous stories, precinct listings, sample ballots and other voter information, go to islandpacket.com/election.

• State and local government stock investments considered
  COLUMBIA -- South Carolina will ask voters to take a gamble on the stock market this Election Day.

• Which presidential candidate won the mock school elections? Click here to find out
  With 10 days to go until the Nov. 4 election, some Bluffton and Hilton Head Island students have spoken, electing Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama over Republican nominee Sen. John McCain as the nation's 44th president.

• Election officials: Voting machine, paper ballot problems resolved
  All absentee ballots cast using machines at the Hilton Head Island and Beaufort elections offices have been counted, Beaufort County elections officials said Wednesday.

• Machine ballots omit candidates' names
  A day after problems with incomplete paper ballots were reported, some Bluffton voters said the absentee ballots they cast in person on machines at the Hilton Head Island elections office weren't recorded correctly.

• Absentee voting up since 2004
  With two weeks left for voters to cast absentee ballots in person, Beaufort County almost has matched the total number of absentee ballots cast in the last presidential election.

• More ballot problems in Beaufort County
  Absentee voters Ellen and Cliff Keith did not need instructions to cast a proper ballot for two Beaufort City Council seats up for grabs in the Nov. 4 general election.

• SC Senate debaters offer polite discourse
  While negativity might be a part of the presidential campaign, the two candidates for Beaufort County's state Senate seat are taking the high road.

• State election panel member denies campaign allegation
  A liberal political blog has accused a Hilton Head Island resident who serves on the South Carolina State Election Commission of campaigning for Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain, which would violate state law.