Voting was reported as going smoothly for the June primary at Horry County polling sites Tuesday. But that could be because there weren't many voters who showed up.
Poll workers at Socastee High School say voting was slow but steady in the early going. By two hours after the polls opened, 60 people had cast ballots in the Lake Park precinct, or about one percent of the precinct's eligible voters.
At Socastee, as in most precincts, there were few races for voters to decide, mostly due to last month's state Supreme Court ruling that disqualified more than 200 candidates around the state.
The lack of races didn't seem to bother the most dedicated voters.
"I always like to get out there and do it, whether it's two things on the ballot, one, or several," said Socastee voter Julie Kopnicky. "I'm still going to get out here and vote."
Voting was far from heavy at the Myrtlewood 1 precinct at Myrtle Beach Intermediate School. The lack of sunshine could have had as great an impact as the lack of races, with a steady rain falling on voters as they made their way to the polls.
"Today the weather is making a big difference," said poll worker Kelly Papotto. "People don't want to come out as quickly, but they are coming out."
At many polling places around the county, candidates who were disqualified by the Supreme Court ruling gathered signatures to get their names on the November ballot as petition candidates. Volunteers for County Council District 3 candidate Lex Gardner were asking voters to sign petitions at the Myrtlewood 1 precinct.
"People are pretty nice, receptive. Either they want to do it or have reservations or whatever, but generally they're pretty nice," said volunteer Susan Kimbrough.
So, were voters discouraged by the ballot mess that knocked so many candidates out of the running?
"I certainly hope not," said Blake Hewitt, who is gathering names to run as a petition candidate in SC House District 105. "We'll kind of see at the end of the day. You can look at the numbers because we know what the turnout is historically, see whether it's less than normal."
Hewitt said he hoped turnout would get a boost from interest in the 7th District Congressional race.
