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.

Sulka, with 53 percent of the vote, led Charlie Wetmore, who had 46 percent. Voters cast 1,738 votes for Sulka and 1,499 for Wetmore, with all precincts reporting. Absentee ballots had not been tallied until 1 a.m. According to the Beaufort County elections office, all Beaufort County results are in, except for provisional ballots and challenged ballots. Those will not be counted until Friday's canvass held by the county elections board.

Provisional ballots are ones that were cast on Election Day when the voter's name was not found on the registration books. The board will verify on Friday whether those votes were cast by valid voters and whether they should be counted.

This morning Sulka was pretty sure she had won the race.

"I feel pretty sure they're all in," she said of the election results. When asked if she thought she was the winner, she said, "I feel like I am. I really feel like I am."

Wetmore said this morning it appeared Sulka had won and that he did not plan to challenge the results. "I don't anticipate contesting the election," he said this morning.

Later in the day, though, he issued a letter calling for an investigation.

FORMAL CHALLENGE Wetmore has issued the following letter today, calling for an investigation into the mayoral election and that certification of the results be delayed until the investigation is completed:

To: Marilyn Caprielian, Vice-chairman, Beaufort County Elections Commission Agnes Garvin, County Elections Director Elllen Bray, Commissioner of Precincts, Bluffton Cynthia Bensch, member, SC State Elections Commission

From: Charles Wetmore, Candidate, Mayor of Bluffton Re: Voter Disenfranchisement on Tuesday, Nov. 4 , 2008 Municipal Election in Bluffton

To Whom It May Concern:

Please be advised that I am formally requesting an investigation into possible voter disenfranchisement and irregularities in yesterday’s election in the following known Precincts: Precincts 5, 4C, and 2B. Voters who should have been allowed to vote for municipal candidates were not able to and some voters who should not have been able to vote for those candidates were allowed.

Anecdotal information given to our campaign and admissions by local precinct officials of such discrepancies lead to the conclusion that there was some, if not significant, disenfranchisement of voters. Given the close nature of the elections for Mayor and Town Council, I am requesting that you immediately undertake to ascertain the total number of voters so affected and then move to rectify this situation. I am also formally requesting that certification of the election results of Nov. 4, 2008 be withheld until the facts of this matter are known and properly dealt with. Please advise me of your decision in this matter.

Sincerely yours,

Charles Wetmore

THE PROBLEMS When polls opened at 7 a.m., some voters from the Townes at Buckwalter, Baynard Park, Parkside and Shell Hall neighborhoods — all within Bluffton town limits — were directed to vote on ballots that did not include the two Bluffton races, according to Beaufort County election officials and Bluffton’s mayoral candidates. The polling place for those voters was LowCountrycq Community Church.

Other voters faced the opposite problem.

Some residents in Old Carolina and Windy Lakes — both are neighborhoods outside town limits — were mistakenly allowed to vote in the town races, officials and candidates said.

Poll workers discovered the error by about 2 p.m. It was corrected by about 2:30 p.m.

Town officials met with the Beaufort County Election Commission in September to update the town’s boundaries so new residents would be able to vote in town races, Sulka said.

Bluffton’s boundaries and population grow regularly, as the town annexes land and fills “donut holes” — pockets of unincorporated county land lying within Bluffton’s town limits.

In light of the polling problems, Wetmore said he and Sulka agreed early Tuesday that if they were separated by only a small number of votes, either would contest. As of today, Sulka led Wetmore by 239 votes.

It’s not clear who was responsible for the wrong ballots ending up at polling places. According to Beaufort County Elections Director Agnes Garvin, poll workers in Bluffton provided incorrect ballots because they didn’t realize some precincts served both Bluffton and unincorporated county residents.

Ellen Bray, commissioner of precincts in Bluffton, said the county’s records showed that certain voters did not reside in town limits. Some of those residents insisted they did live in the town, she said.

Bray said poll workers settled the problem by asking voters whether they pay for their trash service.

“That gave us a clue if they were in the city or not,” Bray said. “Most of them knew that.”

Bray said Bluffton precincts 4C and 5 were the ones most affected by the snafu. Neither Garvin nor Bray would comment on how many voters may have been affected.

The new mayor will succeed Hank Johnston, who did not seek re-election after 10 years in office.

Sulka, 48, of 37 Stock Farm Road, has served four years on Town Council, two of those as mayor pro-tem. A Realtor for Carson Realty in Bluffton, Sulka is married with three children. She has lived in the town for 17 years.

Wetmore, 42, of 108 Pine Ridge Drive, has served two years on council. He still has one year left in his term. Wetmore, co-owner of Bluffton Custom Images, is married with five children. He has lived in Bluffton for nine years.

The new mayor will serve a three-year term and earn $800 per month.