BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C.–So far, Berkeley County voter turnout in Tuesday’s General Election has been huge. According to election officials, some voters began showing up at the polls as early as 6 a.m. in Berkeley County.
“We expect about 75% of the registered voters to vote today, that would be roughly 90,000 voters,” stated Adam Hammons, the director for Berkeley County Elections and Voter Registration. “The percentage will be comparable to 2012 and 2008 but the number of voters served will be higher due to the population increase in Berkeley County over the last several years.”
Many of the precincts have been experiencing long lines with an average wait time of anywhere from 30 minutes to nearly an hour.
“The Crowfield Baptist Church polling site parking lot is packed, and people are parking in the street. Looks like a good turnout today,” stated Goose Creek resident John Brophy.
“Long line waiting at Sedgefield this morning when the doors opened. Looooooong,” posted Jennifer Ward via social media.
Some voters have experienced even longer wait times. In fact, one voter at Goose Creek Primary stated that he waited nearly two hours to cast his vote in the election.
For a few lucky voters, they tell us it took them just a few minutes to cast their ballot.
“Took all of 15 minutes. Good time to have gone. Beat all the after work voters,” stated Linda Courtney who voted at Boulder Bluff Elementary.
Warren Adair, who voted at Devon Forest, spent only about five minutes to cast his ballot. He was also one of the few lucky ones.
Lines are expected to be heaviest after 5 p.m. when most people get off from work. The longest lines seem to be about an hour or so at several locations, Sedgefield Middle, Cane Bay High and Berkeley High.
“Folks in a hurry should try to vote before 5 p.m. After work things will pick up again. It’s been a busy day but a good day. Folks should prepare for a little wait and make sure they have their photo ID,” stated Hammons.
Some polling locations are experiencing a few minor hiccups. At Metro North Church in Goose Creek, we were there when two of the voting machines went down. Poll workers were frantically trying to fix the problem.
We also saw a few people show up to the wrong polling location.
One voter contacted ABC News 4 to report that the machines were broken at Goose Creek Primary and they would have to cast a paper ballot. Berkeley County spokesperson Michael Mule said they are aware of the problem.
“No major issues other than normal opening issues that were corrected quickly by the technicians,” explained Hammons. “We did have a ballot style issue at Goose Creek Primary that caused some voters to vote on paper ballots.”
In Berkeley County, about 12% of registered voters voted absentee on Monday. That’s more than any other election year so far.
More than 18,000 Berkeley County residents requested absentee ballots, according to SCVotes.org. This year, more than 1.1 million South Carolina voters cast absentee ballots–that’s about 536,000 more than in the 2012 General Election.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will remain open until 7 p.m.
To view a list of the polling places in Berkeley County, click here.
To view a sample ballot in your area, click here.
To view the results from Tuesday night’s election, voters can later click here.
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