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Friday, November 9, 2012

GOP: The Voters Have Spoken

In a statement following their petition to halt a recount of all Richland County votes, the GOP leaders called for results to be certified.

After a judge issued a recount of all Richland County votes, the South Carolina GOP filed a petition to halt that recount.  Much of the debate comes from the Senate 75 race between Democrat Joe McCulloch and Republican Kirkman Finlay. Finlay, at the end of the tally on Wednesday night, lead by 300 votes. The GOP argues that this is more than one percent as a one percent difference would trigger an automatic recount.  You can read the petition here. The statement in full follows:   

Ken

3:48 pm on Friday, November 9, 2012

Quit your damn whining and let the recount begin, let us prove that the GOP did not rig this election. Or is that what they are afraid of, perhaps they did did rig it and are fearful that a recount will expose them for the criminals that they are..   more ›

UPDATE: GOP Sues to Stop Recount

A judge ordered all Richland County votes cast Tuesday to be recounted amid the chaos surrounding elections. Republicans disagree.

Updated 8:06 a.m. The South Carolina Republicans will head to the state Supreme Court Friday morning to ask a judge to halt the recount, The State reports.  On Friday, SC Democrats sued over the Joe McCulloch-Kirkman Finlay Senate 75 seat that was separated by less than 300 votes at the end of the 24-hour initial count of vots.  See other coverage from elections:  Original report follows:  After reports that long lines turned away voters and the election results took more than 24 hours to count, a judge ordered all Richland County votes to be recounted, The State reports.  All Richland County officials will be banned from any part of the recount, The State reports.  Patch will be at the Richland County Elections office bringing you updates…

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Northeast Columbia Election Results

Find out who will take over for Richland Two, County Council and the status of the penny sales tax.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Incumbents, Elkins Win In Richland 2 Election

The two incumbents for Richland Two Board of Trustees prevailed Tuesday at the polls.

Of the seven candidates for Richland Two's three open spaces the two incumbents, Chip Jackson and Susan Brill, were re-elected along with newcomer Monica Elkins.  Elkins, who has been in school administration for years, said her she will bring her experience inside schools to the board.  "I was very excited and quite impressed with the people moving forward in the district," Elkins said. "I want to bring insight from working in the schools, help bring compassion and making positive decisions to move students forward in their career." Elkins also hit on building relationships between teachers and administrators. This election got heated after the current board members evaulated the superintendent's performance for her term so far.  Newcomer…

Rush Wins County Council 7

With the incumbent out, it was two new faces in Richland County Council 7.

Democrat Torrey Rush beat newcomer Celestine Parker in the Richland County Council District 7 election.  Read more about Torrey Rush and Celestine Parker in the Election Guide on Patch.  The vote was 11,341 to 2,860 with 122 of 124 precincts reporting. 

Larry A. Dunster

11:43 am on Thursday, November 8, 2012

Torrey, You ran a great campaign and we extend congratulations on your success. We look forward to your service on Richland County Council. Rev. Larry Dunster Heritage Hills   more ›

Dickerson Triumphs in Richland County Council 2

A photographer and an incumbent go head-to-head.

Newcomer Michael Koska lost to incumbent Joyce Dickerson in the Richland County Council 2 election.  With 122 of 124 precincts reporting, Dickerson will unofficially represent District 2. For more on the candidates, see the Election Guides.  Click here for County Council 7 results and here for County Council 8. 

Letter to the Editor

Candidate Calls for New Election

Michael Letts, candidate for County Council District 8, penned a formal complaint to the Richland County Board of Elections concerning the disastrous elections yesterday.

To: Richland County Election Commissioners To: Lillian McBride, Executive Director, Richland County Election Commission To: S.C. Election Commissioners From: Michael Letts       I wish to file a formal complaint regarding the November 6th General Election in Richland County. There are two points of contention: 1. Several voters told me they cast a straight-party Democrat vote, but also separately cast a vote for me on the same ballot; yet during the final step in the process, when they were asked by the voting machine to look over the votes they had cast, their votes showed up as being for the Democratic candidate.   (In addition to multiple voters telling me this, at least one other candidate has received this complaint from voters in …

Richland 2 Election Runs Close, Results Delayed

After a day of four-hour waits at Richland County polls, the vote counting ran into the early morning.

As of 2 a.m. only 100 of the 124 Richland County polling precincts were reported at the Voter Registration Office.  At that time, the penny sales tax was neck and neck at 50.49 percent "yes" and 49.51 percent "no." Beth Bernstein had a strong lead over incumbent Joan Brady for the House 78 seat.  For full numbers see this story.  Torrey Rush had an 80 percent lead over GOP candidate Celestine Parker for County Council 7, while incumbent Jim Manning held at 66 percent over Michael Letts for County Council 8. Susan Brill had a strong lead over the other Richland Two candidates but the remaining two spots were up for grabs. Chip Jackson, the incumbent, had 18.11 percent while Monica Elkins had 16.03 percent and Jennifer Richter had 16.20 …

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

5 Things to Know on Election Day

Stay with Patch for updates, but check this list out before you leave home.

1. It's supposed to be cold and rainy in Richland County. See details on Election Day weather here, but just don't forget an umbrella.  2. For clarification on what a "yes" vote or "no" vote means for the state and county issues--not candidates--see this document. The only statewide question on the ballot is concerning the Governor and Lt. Governor being elected on the same ticket in 2018.  3. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.  4. In order to vote, you must have your voter registration certificate, a valid South Carolina driver's license or photo ID card. 5. Patch will be at the polls all day. Stop to tell us about your voting experience or just to chat. Be sure to stay with us throughout the day for updates on the races. 

michelle

7:27 am on Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Be prepared to wait some places dont have appropriate amount of voting boothe for people to vote at   more ›

Over Coffee

Confessions of a 1st Time Voter

The world has continued to turn without my vote for this long, why mess with it now?

It’s not that I haven’t tried to vote. When I was 20 and a junior in college, my registration—along with a few thousand other students’—got lost somewhere in the mail or the hands of a poll worker. Then in 2010, I tried to vote in Georgia and you guessed it—my registration got lost again. This year, I fought back a little. OK, not really. I just went to the office in person to make sure they didn’t lose it or misplace my name. Yea, I surely outsmarted those slippery USPS workers this year. And, nearly six years after turning 18, I’ll be able to vote for the first time. This has been a tumultuous campaign run and with our current system, it’s easy to wonder “why even vote?” But after this whole ordeal I've kind of adopted the Winnie the …

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