Voters, poll workers voice frustrations at Richland County election meeting

This comes two days after voters waited for hours in line and some received incomplete ballots for the primary

RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. (WOLO) —Several frustrated poll workers and voters made their voices heard at a meeting of Richland County’s Board of Voter Registration and Elections Thursday morning.

People complained about long wait times, incomplete and handwritten ballots, combined precincts, and working conditions at polling places.

A common sight at polling places across Richland County were long lines of people stretching out the door and into parking lots, with some people even waiting past midnight to cast their vote.

One voter told the board she had to wait for four hours, only to find out she went to the wrong precinct.

“I’ve voted since I was in the eleventh grade, and I would hate to think that my vote will not be cast because I was at the wrong place,” the voter said.

In the weeks leading up to the primary, Richland County had to combine 70 precincts due to a lack of poll workers.

Some voters told the board that some polling places had similar labels, and as a result, they ended up going to the wrong precinct. For instance, one voter thought when her postcard said “North Springs”, she thought it meant North Springs Elementary School, not North Springs Community Center.

As a result, the board opted not to count several of those votes.

Alongside voters, poll managers, some of whom had to work for the first time and with fewer people to help them out, had a tough time moving the lines along.

“We couldn’t process the people. We only had two laptops, we could only do two at a time. Also, we had a person come in and throw up in the precinct, that created another problem,” said Eloise Fomby-Denson, a poll manager.

After requests from several lawmakers, the State Election Commission announced their intent to help Richland County with its run-off election June 23.

In a statement, the Commission said they were disappointed in how Richland County carried out the election, and that new leadership is needed.

The board’s chair told ABC Columbia he welcomes this help, saying it could help them make smarter decisions in the next two weeks.

“We want to review how we make the decision about combining polling places and to ensure that we don’t overload any particular location, and that we have adequate equipment and personnel to accommodate combining those polls,” said Charles P. Austin Sr., the Chair of the Richland County Board of Voter Registration and Elections.

Austin also says that the Board is on track to hire a permanent director by July 1. Terry Graham currently serves as the board’s Interim Director.

Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC) was asked at a press conference Wednesday about whether he would personally intervene in the board’s operation. In 2019, he fired the entire election board on the grounds of “continued misconduct and neglect of duty.”

The Governor said he would do whatever was necessary to make sure people have a satisfactory voting experience, but also said he would leave it to the State Election Commission to make sure the board is ready to properly oversee the run-offs June 23.

The run-off elections in Richland County will take place on June 23. Below are a list of races slated to be on ballots across the county (incumbent italicized)

*RICHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL (District 7): Gretchen Barron (D) vs. Gwendolyn Kennedy (D)

*RICHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL (District 8): Hamilton Grant (D) vs. Overture Walker (D)

*RICHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL (District 9): Jonneika Farr (D) vs. Calvin “Chip” Jackson (D)

*RICHLAND COUNTY COUNCIL (District 10): Cheryl English (D) vs. Dahli Myers (D)