Voting via cotton swab: How the Republican primary is shaking out in Beaufort County
Election results were unavailable at press time. Please check The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette’s homepage, islandpacket.com, for the most up-to-date results.
Poll workers and voters wore masks, kept their distance and used cotton swabs to vote Tuesday in South Carolina’s primary, its first election during the coronavirus pandemic.
Beaufort and Jasper counties saw voters trickle through, social distancing to vote in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. In Jasper County, local races were all on the Democratic Party ballot, while in Beaufort County, the only candidates vying Tuesday were Republicans.
Beaufort County’s Board of Elections director, Marie Smalls, said Tuesday afternoon that there were no major issues to report, but social distancing requirements slowed down the check-in and processing of voters throughout the county.
“We’re running a little slow,” she said. “We are also a little bit short-handed. A lot of our poll workers are not working because of the pandemic.”
Poll workers, many of whom are older and at higher risk for severe cases of COVID-19, wore masks and sat behind large plastic shields that separated them from voters.
Voting in Bluffton
At the Bluffton Library, about 108 people had cast their ballots by 9 a.m., according to poll clerk Tina Holmes.
Voters lined up as early as 6:20 a.m., although the polls did not open until 7 a.m.
Only Republican candidates were on Tuesday’s primary ballot, but anyone, regardless of political party, could vote. Holmes said she and other poll workers fielded many questions from Democrats who came to vote and were not sure if they could.
Nearby, a small group of campaigners held signs for Nancy Mace, who is running for the Republican nomination for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District.
Logan Cunningham, a former challenger to Mace and a local Republican activist, led the gathering, standing about 500 feet from the precinct entrance. The group, holding signs and yelling as cars turned toward the library, appeared on the street around 9 a.m.
Candidates and their proxies cannot campaign within 200 feet of polling places, according to the S.C. Election Commission.
Elsewhere, poll workers said mask requirements were confusing some voters.
At the Buckwalter Recreation Center, a county-owned facility, masks were required in the building. Poll clerk Nancy Allen said about half of voters brought their own masks. Others were provided one before entering the recreation center.
“This polling place is different because it’s owned by the county,” Allen said of the mask rule. “Everyone has to wear one.”
By 9:30 a.m., about 111 people representing four precincts had voted at the recreation center. Allen reported no issues with people refusing to wear masks to vote.
Both Allen and Holmes said voters were more comfortable with the electronic voting machines, which require users to print their completed ballot and cast it into a separate machine. The new system had created confusion in previous elections.
Bluffton was crawling with political campaigners Tuesday. Young people held signs in Old Town, and street corners are papered with candidates’ signs.
Voting on Hilton Head Island
At many polling places on Hilton Head Island, the stream of voters was slow and steady.
The Hilton Head library reported around 150 voters representing three precincts by 11:30 a.m.
Bill Taylor, a poll clerk there, said he was still helping voters who were not used the new voting machines. He said the use of cotton swabs to vote was going smoothly and was less time-consuming than he had expected.
Cynthia Perry-Mitchell, a poll clerk also stationed at the library, said she had fielded very few questions from voters.
Farther south, St. Luke’s Church on Pope Avenue reported around 132 voters as of noon Tuesday.
Poll clerk Tom Conner said he and other poll workers were redirecting many people to different polling locations.
People who typically vote at the nearby Seabrook of Hilton Head retirement community were moved to St. Luke’s for this election because Seabrook is “locked down” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, Conner said.
While two precincts were voting on the east side of the church, Seabrook voters were relocated to the west side of the building, meaning many had to take a short walk.
Conner said St. Luke’s had a healthy push of voters in the morning, and he expected more late afternoon when people got off work.
Several Hilton Head Island polling places also saw campaigning from close range. Empty cars parked just outside the 200-foot “campaigning” radius were adorned with signs supporting Phil Hartman, who is running for S.C. House District 123 against Rep. Jeff Bradley.
The cars were parked near more traditional forms of election day campaigning: crops of paper signs featuring the faces of candidates.
Voting in Beaufort and Port Royal
At the county-owned Charles Lind Brown Center, where multiple Beaufort precincts vote, large signs told voters that face masks were required and that people should remain 6 feet apart.
In the hall leading to the gymnasium, blue tape marked proper social distancing as a steady lunchtime crowd adorned masks and entered to vote.
At Port Royal Town Hall, there were no signs requiring visitors to wear masks or advising to maintain distance, though tape marked spots on the floor.
A poll clerk sat behind a folding table and offered voters masks, hand sanitizer and gloves.
Inside the room where ballots were cast, shields separated poll workers’ tables from voters.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 10:54 AM.
