Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Election Day: Area voters making their final decisions today

Election Day is here, and for most area cities and town, the results should tell the story by Wednesday morning.

But predictions of runoffs in at least two races - Myrtle Beach mayor and City Council - and perhaps in the also crowded Georgetown and North Myrtle Beach mayor's races, mean the suspense may linger.

With five candidates for Myrtle Beach mayor and 12 candidates for three open council seats, the majority of the council could turn over today. But political watchers predict the slugfest for mayor won't be over in one voting. The May motorcycle rallies and the 1 percent sales tax are galvanizing issues that prompted some first-time candidates to jump into this year's race.

Typically, election years that don't feature bigger races - for governor or president - mean lower voter turnout. Last year's presidential election got about 77 percent of voters to hit the polls or vote absentee, while municipal elections alone usually draw well below 50 percent.

But it could be different today.

Coastal Carolina University political science professor Paul Peterson said he expected the Myrtle Beach election to draw the largest number of people to the polls - in larger numbers than usual - because the race involves two "well-known, polarizing figures" and issues that have seemingly divided the community.

"People pay attention when they think something's wrong," he said.

There's a controversial issue in North Myrtle Beach that could lure voters, too - the April wildfire that burned nearly 20,000 acres brought criticism of public warning systems and officials' responses to the emergency. Four candidates want to take the reins in North Myrtle Beach, but the council race is far less populated - there are only three candidates for two seats.

Here's what voters need to know today:

The weather

Forecasters are predicting a beautiful day - 70 to 72 degrees and mostly sunny.

The polls

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. in South Carolina, and anyone still in line at 7 p.m. must be allowed to vote. In North Carolina, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and those in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote. Brunswick County, N.C., had early voting, on weekdays between Oct. 15 and 31.

The results

In Horry County, each city handles its own municipal election, so ballots will be counted by each city's elections office.

In Myrtle Beach, election results will be tabulated at Council Chambers in the Ted C. Collins Law Enforcement Center, corner of Oak Street and Mr. Joe White Avenue. The city has 15,879 registered voters this year. City spokesman Mark Kruea said he will post results online after they are all tabulated.

In North Myrtle Beach, where there are 10,008 registered voters, results will be tabulated in the training room at City Hall, 1018 Second Ave. S. City Clerk Merideth Smith said preliminary results will likely be posted online.

The results of Conway's vote will be counted at City Hall, 229 Main St. City Clerk Vicki Lefler said results will be counted downstairs and displayed on a screen upstairs in council chambers, and will be live on the city's TV access channel, HTC channel 9. There are 8,664 voters registered there this year.

Atlantic Beach, Aynor and Briarcliffe Acres are the county's other three cities with elections today. Atlantic Beach has 401 voters, Aynor has 356, and Briarcliffe has 425. Each city will tabulate ballots at City Hall or the city community center.

In Brunswick County, voters will cast ballots in races for 19 municipal seats, two sanitary districts and one Dosher Hospital race. Board of Elections Director Greg Bellamy said about 42,500 of the county's 74,449 voters are eligible to cast ballots today because they live in the cities, within the sanitary districts or in the hospital district. Bellamy said votes are tabulated in the precincts and reported to his office, which runs the elections for the municipalities. His office will post preliminary results online as they come in, and certification is a week after the election.

Georgetown County elections officials have three races but will have an election in only one of them. In Andrews and Pawleys Island, there are only enough candidates to fill the open seats. In Georgetown, there are 5,141 active voters eligible to cast ballots for five mayoral candidates and six hopefuls for three open council seats. Elections Director Donna Mahn said votes will be counted in her office at 303 Hazard St., and she will e-mail the unofficial results. In South Carolina, votes should be certified by Thursday, officials said.

Polling for the disabled and elderly

Anyone who needs help at the polls has only to ask. If a voter is disabled and/or 65 or older and cannot wait in line or walk into a polling place, the voter or his or her representative can ask a poll worker to conduct curbside voting. Many polling places will have special parking spaces set aside for people who need curbside voting. The curbside voter will vote inside his or her car, either with a portable machine or on a confidential paper ballot that will be immediately sealed and delivered.

If you need help inside the polling place, there are poll workers to assist you.

Absentee ballots

In Horry County, absentee ballots must be received by 4 p.m. today to be counted.

In Brunswick County, they had to be received by the close of business Monday.

In Georgetown County, absentee ballots must be received by 7 p.m. today.

What to bring

Each voter should arrive at the polls with one of the following: his or her valid voter registration cards, a valid driver's license or a valid Department of Motor Vehicles-issued ID card. Voters who registered by mail or are voting for the first time and didn't submit proof of ID with registration must have additional ID besides a voter registration card.