Beaufort Co. elections office preparing for runoff as early voting starts

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTOC) - Early voting is underway in South Carolina’s special Republican primary for U.S. Senate, with 10 candidates on the ballot ahead of the August 11 election day.

Early voting centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday.

Darline Graham, who took over as interim senator following the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, is among the candidates. She has received the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

Not all registered voters are eligible to participate. Voters who participated in the Republican primary in June, or who did not vote in either primary, are eligible. Voters who participated in the Democratic primary in June are not eligible.

If no candidate receives a majority of the vote on Aug. 11, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff election later this month.

Director of the Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Beaufort County Jean Felix said it’s likely.

“The more candidates on the ballot, the higher likelihood that we’ll have a runoff, so we’re already preparing for a runoff,” Felix said.

Felix said staff had questions when Graham passed away and worked to ensure all legalities were followed.

“I knew that the staff was going to have questions about what this was going to entail. Obviously, the state election commission has a lot to say about what happens in these elections, but as for dates, that’s set by state law, so I just wanted to be prepared for that,” Felix said.

The full list of candidates is Duke Buckner, Russell Fry, Darline Graham, Mark Lynch, Mark McBride, Ralph Norman, Glenda Gail Parker, Mark Sanford, Sam Shepherd and Danny Ford II.

Fry, Graham, Lynch, Norman, and Sanford participated in a debate on Aug. 3 in Columbia with WTOC’s sister station, WIS. Click/tap here to watch.

Ford was a late addition after Richland County Judge Daniel Coble ruled against the South Carolina Republican Party’s position that the primary and any subsequent runoff should be considered a single primary election.

“We were ready for the ballots and equipment, and then when that happened we were kind of in a holding pattern. We had to wait and see what the courts were going to do, but we were ready for it; the state election commission was ready for it, so as soon as we got word on what the courts had decided, the transition was fairly simple, just time-consuming,” Felix said.

Felix encouraged all eligible voters to participate.

“Your vote matters. All the candidates deserve to have their supporters come out and vote for them, and if you don’t vote, then the candidate of your choice may not be elected, so I always encourage everyone to vote no matter what,” Felix said.