Elections Dir. Says Office is Prepared for 12/3 Election

Columbia, S.C.  (WOLO)  —  A group known as the Richland County Fair Elections Committee, is calling for an independent investigation into the 2012 election disaster in Richland County and the most recent debacle November fifth.

This, as a special election in Columbia is set to take place Tuesday, December third. However, the Richland County Elections Office says those mistakes are a thing of the past.

Director of the Richland County Elections and Voter Registration Office, Howard Jackson, says the December third special election, where city of Columbia voters will decide whether to change its form of government to strong mayor, will go off without a hitch.

That has not been the case the past two elections.

“We had policies and procedures in place that were not followed,” says Jackson.  “Now we have stronger policies and procedures in place to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Additional steps include a mandatory pre-certification audit; the testing of a new ballot tabulation machine; looking at methods to streamline voting; and cutting wait times by utilizing smart phones and iPads in the voting process.

“Hopefully Richland County will be on the front end of this new technology,” said Jackson.

Meanwhile, if you’d like to volunteer with groups representing both the ‘yes’ or ‘no’ side of the strong mayor referendum vote, contact the Communities United for a Great Columbia at votenocolumbia@gmail.com or columbiastrongmayor.com.