Early voting in the special primary for South Carolina Senate District 15 opens Monday, Aug. 17, and runs through Friday, Aug. 28, with only two early voting centers open in York County.
The centers are the Fire Training Center of York County at 2500 McFarland Road in York and Staybridge Suites at Galleria Mall at 493 Galleria Blvd. in Rock Hill. Both are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Both are closed weekends, legal holidays and the Monday before the primary.
The primary will decide which Democrat faces Republican James Burns in the Nov. 3 special election for the seat Sen. Wes Climer is giving up. Climer transmitted his resignation to Senate leadership in June with an effective date of Nov. 3, as he runs for Congress.
Four familiar sites are not open
Voters who have used other York County early voting sites in past elections will need to change their plans. The Board of Voter Registration and Elections of York County lists four locations as closed for this primary: the Holiday Inn Rock Hill at the Galleria Mall, Clinton College in Rock Hill, Carolina Cornerstone Church in the Fort Mill and Tega Cay area, and the elections office itself at 6 South Congress St. in York.
The Staybridge Suites center shares a parking lot with the Holiday Inn site that is closed, which is likely to send some voters to the wrong door.
Who is on the ballot
Two Democrats qualified. Chad Williams, a former York County councilman, planning commission member and business owner from Rock Hill, was the first candidate to file for the seat on July 10. https://www.chadforsenate.com/
Monika White also filed July 10. She announced her filing in a social media post urging supporters to check their voter registration, review the early voting window and mark the primary date. White is a former Secretary of the York County Democratic Party. https://monikawhiteforscsenate15.com/
Burns drew no Republican opposition, so there is no Republican primary. He has served six years on the Rock Hill school board and owns Burns Chevrolet Cadillac and Burns Ford. He is a Rock Hill native and a Citadel graduate. https://burnsforsenate.com/
Absentee and primary day
The deadline to return an absentee ballot application is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21. Applications received after that will not be filled, and the elections office says those voters will need to use an early voting center or vote on primary day. Completed absentee ballots must be back in the elections office by 7 p.m. on primary day. Polling places cannot accept them.
Voter registration for this primary has already closed. The in person deadline was July 31 and the online deadline was Aug. 2.
Primary day is Tuesday, Sept. 1. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and anyone in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote. If no candidate wins a majority, a runoff will be held Tuesday, Sept. 15.
Voters can reach the Board of Voter Registration and Elections of York County at 803.684.1242. Election day polling locations for the primary had not yet been posted as of Sunday.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
