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Absentee voting can be done either in-person or through the mail and gives people, who are unavailable on Election Day, the chance to vote.<\/p>\n
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The director of Richland County Voter Registration and Elections was in the Halloween spirit Wednesday, dressed in a pumpkin-print suit and handing out candy to voters waiting to cast their\u00a0in-person absentee ballots.<\/p>\n
Rokey Suleman said he expects in-person absentee voting to pick up over the next three days in advance of the Nov. 6 election.\u00a0Suleman said about 1,500 registered voters have cast ballots each day since the start of absentee voting on Oct. 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suleman says he anticipates that number to reach a total of 20,000 by Monday, the last day to absentee vote in-person. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Voters are being encouraged to vote in-person at the Richland office, 2020 Hampton St., and to also take advantage of the three satellite centers at Ballentine Community Center, Parklane Adult Activity Center and Garners Ferry Adult Activity Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsentee voting has been higher than our previous midterm election in 2014,\u201d Suleman said. \u201cWe\u2019re not as high as the presidential election of 2016, but we\u2019re certainly setting a record for midterm elections right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
South Carolina voters, like students and vacation-goers, qualify to participate in absentee voting if they\u2019re away from their county of residence on Election Day. Other voters qualify if they expect to be unable to vote due to work or other commitments such as jury duty. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Thad Hall, the deputy director of Richland County Voter Registration and Elections, dressed as Uncle Sam and said that he has been assisting some voters with absentee curbside voting, a system that allows the elderly and physically disabled to vote outside of a polling area and remain in their cars.<\/p>\n
Two officials are involved in curbside voting, one to handle the paperwork and the other to oversee the use of the portable voting machine. While at the voter\u2019s vehicle, the official gives machine assistance to the voter while maintaining their privacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast week we had a gentleman who was African American and born in 1919, and he came here and voted. He had grown up here in South Carolina, and so he likely couldn\u2019t have voted because of the legal restrictions on African Americans voting until he was about 46 or 47,” Hall said. \u201cSo, it was really heartwarming and exciting for all of us to help him vote.\u201d<\/p>\n
Voters can submit absentee ballot requests for direct family members, and Hall says many grandmothers and mothers \u201cwant to pass on the importance of voting\u201d and come to the office to ensure their family members are sent their forms.<\/p>\n
According to Suleman, the office has seen \u201ca little bit more of an increase in student activity\u201d for absentee voting, but Hall said there is still a larger turnout of older voters. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Armanis Pollard, an absentee voter and a recent University of South Carolina graduate, said a lot of young people don\u2019t understand how voting works. But she said if she had to encourage someone from her own generation to vote, she would ask them just one question.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would ask them \u2018Have you been satisfied with all the past elections?\u2019\u201d Pollard said. \u201cAnd if the answer is ‘no’ you might want to do something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hall says that there is a real need for a younger voter turnout, because although the younger generation is outspoken, public policy depends on the votes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople should treat voting like the USC and Clemson game. You should pick a team and get excited about your team and participate,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n
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Rokey Suleman, center, the director of\u00a0Richland County Voter Registration and Elections, said there appears to be an uptick in absentee voting this year. He was joined by Thad Hall, deputy director, and Michelle Harrington, his assistant at the Halloween news conference.<\/p>\n
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Richland County Voter Registration and Elections got in the Halloween spirit and offered candy to their absentee voters Wednesday. There are only three days left to cast an in-person absentee ballot.<\/p>\n
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Thad Hall, deputy director of\u00a0Richland County Voter Registration and Elections, oversees absentee curbside voting, a system that allows the physically disabled and elderly to cast their votes while sitting in their car outside a polling center.<\/p>\n
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Danesha Williams and\u00a0Armanis Pollard, recent college graduates who cast absentee votes on Wednesday, say that many younger people don’t understand how voting works. They encourage anyone who is unhappy with the current political climate to come out and vote.<\/p>\n
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