Elections Board Meets; Sets Dates for Vote

By KATHY MUDD

The Jasper County Board of Elections and Registration had a brief meeting Tuesday evening, at which they set the dates for early voting and election day voting for a Public Service Commission (PSC) seat that is up for election.

Vice-Chairman Mark Logan questioned why the board has to vote on the dates when they are already state mandated. Chairman Guy Tucker said he didn’t know why, but that is a requirement. Cathy Benson was present for her first meeting of the board after the commissioners named her to the vacancy last week.

Early voting for the seat will be May 27-31, June 2-7, and June 9-13, with June 17 being election day. Early voting takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and election day voting is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mr. Logan questioned if they could change the meetings to daytime rather than evenings, and Mr. Tucker pointed out that the board wants to be accessible to the public and that the working public can’t come to daytime meetings. He also commented on the number of people at the meeting, as there were a dozen or so people in attendance.

Elections Superintendent David McGuire siad he has 13 new poll worker, and said he is working on voter registrations. He told of upcoming training he will attend, and that a representative from the state would be at his office Wednesday to answer questions and give him guidance.

Jasper County Republican party chairman Mary Patrick asked when the deadline is for Republicans and Democrats to submit questions they would like to see on the November ballot. She also said the state mandates that a list of voters by day be kept, and suggested that a list be kept rather than waiting on the state to send back its daily count. She said it would be a better system for checks and balances.