Beaufort Co. election officials ready for Election Day after over 46,000 voted early; talk way to get results faster

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - Many voters in Beaufort County know it often takes a few extra hours to finalize election results on election night.

This time around, election officials are taking to the skies to speed up the process.

Beaufort County voters have 81 polling locations open across the county on Tuesday; only five of them will be closed.

One of those is on Daufuskie Island, which has a little over 500 voters and is traditionally the last precinct to return its numbers.

For as long as election officials can remember, the only way to transport voting machines and memory cards to and from the bridgeless island has been by boat.

While the machine was ferried over by boat as usual on Monday with help from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, it will make its return trip through the air, weather permitting.

The county plans to use a helicopter from the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit to fly the results back from Daufuskie Island on Tuesday night, accompanied by poll workers.

“Hopefully that will get us those results back 2-3 hours earlier than we normally see,” Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections Director Jean Felix said. “This will allow us to get all the results in sooner, which means my staff can go home a little bit earlier, and then the candidates and the parties and the public will have the results sooner, which I think makes everyone happy.”

Shorter lines expected on Election Day

The effort comes during what has already been an exceptionally busy election season.

Voters in Beaufort County are deciding key local races, a transportation referendum for road projects, and electing a new sheriff for the first time in more than 20 years.

Countywide, more than 46,000 people cast their ballots during the two-week early voting window, roughly one-third of the county’s 142,000 registered voters.

Statewide in South Carolina, more than 1 million people voted early.

“I think it’s certainly more convenient for voters,” Felix said of the early voting surge. “They can kind of plan it around their schedules and there is a two-week period. Also, candidates and the parties have really pushed early voting in recent years.”

Even with robust early turnout, election officials still anticipate steady lines at the county’s 81 polling sites on Tuesday.

“We’re prepared for every single one of our 142,000 voters,” Felix said. “We hope they do come out, but we do expect that the lines will be a little bit shorter.”

Election Day resources

Voters with questions about their polling precinct or ballot details ahead of Election Day can click here.