Absentee voting begins for District 4 primary

Absentee voting for the Laurens County Council District 4 Republican Primary Election is going on now through Monday, July 8.

Voting began Monday and is scheduled for each weekday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Laurens County Historic Courthouse. The office will be closed on July 4.

The GOP Primary Election is set for Tuesday, July 9. Voters will choose between Republican candidates Jennifer Garrett and Brown Patterson to fill the District 4 seat left vacant by Stewart Jones, who was elected to the statehouse in April.

“There is no early voting in South Carolina, so voters must be qualified in order to vote absentee,” said Laurens County Board of Registration and Elections Director Lynne West. “Voters need a reason or excuse to be able to vote absentee.”

Absentee ballots are accepted by walk-in at the Historic Courthouse or by mail. A photo ID is required.

Here is a list of reasons for absentee voting accepted by the state:

• Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine serving outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them.
• Persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service
• Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them.
• Overseas Citizens.
• Persons who are physically disabled
• Students attending school outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them.
• Persons who for reasons of employment will not be able to vote on election day.
• Government employees serving outside their county of residence on Election Day and their spouses and dependents residing with them.
• Persons who plan to be on vacation outside their county of residence on Election Day.
• Persons serving as a juror in state or federal court on Election Day.
• Persons admitted to the hospital as emergency patients on Election Day or within a four-day period before the election.
• Persons with a death or funeral in the family within three days before the election.
• Persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial.
• Persons attending sick or physically disabled persons.

With no Democratic challenger registered, the winner of the Republican Primary will be the presumed winner of the special election scheduled for Sept. 10, barring a successful write-in campaign.

Any registered voter can vote in the GOP Primary, West said.

“In South Carolina, we don’t register by party, so anyone who is eligible to vote in District 4 will be able to vote in the Republican Primary. As far as we’re concerned, you can be a Republican today and a Democrat tomorrow because we don’t collect that information.”

 

Jester seeking Cross Hill seat

Connie Jester has filed to run for Cross Hill Town Council in an Aug. 13 special election.

Jester, the wife of former Cross Hill Mayor Charles Jester, confirmed her intention to run for the seat prior to the opening of the filing period this past week.

The at-large seat on town council came open following the resignation of first-term councilman Brett Davis, who accepted a job and moved from Cross Hill.

The filing deadline for the special election is noon Friday, June 29.