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For Dist. 3 primary, absentee voting ends today, polls open at 7 Tuesday

Three candidates for Laurens County Council District 3 seat have been working this past month to earn the Democratic nomination in a Democratic Primary set for tomorrow, Tuesday, July 20, and absentee voting closes after 5 p.m. today, Monday, July 19.

The primary is ahead of a special election slated for Tuesday, Sept. 30, where District 3 voters will elect a county council representative to replace Garrett McDaniel who stepped down this fall to take a position in Washington D.C.

“There’s no need for a Republican primary because Scott Tollison is the only Republican candidate,” said Lynne West, director of The Laurens County Board of Voter Registration and Elections. “The three Democratic candidates are Shirley H. Clark, William A Kilgore Jr. and Lee McDaniel.”

District 3 voters who wish to vote absentee can bring a required photo ID and go in person to the Historic Courthouse today before 5 p.m. Monday and state why the absente vote is needed.

“The pandemic as a reason expired on Dec. 31 so we are back to the regular list,” West said. “But there are still several valid reasons which qualify a person, such as vacation, employment schedules, anyone 65 and older can vote absentee and other reasons.”

For Tuesday’s Democratic primary tomorrow, July 20, there will be 13 precinct locations open. Those unsure of their County Council district seat can find it on their voter registration card tab, by entering a home address at scvotes.gov or by calling The Laurens County Voter Registration office at 864-984-4431.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“Even though we will have 13 precincts open, not every voter at each precinct is in District 3 because the lines can be different,” West said. “For instance, Wattsville will be open but there are only 10 Wattsville vot- ers who are in District 3. It’s by far the smallest number because most of the precincts have hundreds of eligible voters. It just depends on how the lines are drawn.”

If no run-off is required, the winner of the Democratic primary will then face Tollison in the Sept. 21 special election.

For any voter registration questions, contact officials at 864-984-4431.

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