Officers of our county party attended the meeting of the Georgetown Co. Election Board on Wed. Several citizens addressed the commission during the public comment section (Deb Smith of the GCDP, Marvin Neal of the NAACP, former City Councilman Sheldon Butts, and County Councilman Everett Carolina.) and although they focused on different specifics, the consensus seemed to be serious concerns about the conduct of the June primaries, requests for transparency, and desire to get updates from the Board and Office Director Kristie Richardson about what specific steps are being taken to assure a smooth election process in November.
The Board addressed some of the concerns.
They are getting extra equipment and training volunteers to assist with the absentee by mail balloting.
They are hoping to hire more poll workers and will schedule training , probably in Sept. Ebony Hughes, Education Liaison for the NAACP, in her comments before the Board, suggested that high school and college students be recruited as poll workers and both the Board and Dir. Richardson seemed receptive to the idea.
Polling locations have not yet been found for every precinct due to some entities closing their buildings because of Covid concerns.
As of today, the established absentee qualifications still apply; however the legislature may waive them as they did in June but they don’t reconvene until September.
If you would like to be a poll worker, or volunteer to help with mail in ballots, contact the voter registration office at 843/545-3339. If you can volunteer as an official poll-watcher for the GCDP, contact Deb Smith at 843/830-3996 or email gtowncodems@gmail.com
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