BEAUFORT, S.C. — As early voting wraps up Saturday, Beaufort County election officials are steering voters around two problems before the Nov. 3 general election: a touchscreen quirk and a false rumor about ballots.
Some voters in Beaufort and Jasper counties have described tapping one choice and seeing a different one light up. The South Carolina State Election Commission says the fix is simple: press the large box that holds the candidate or party name, because pressing the little box at the left can highlight the choice above it. The commission says it has not seen an unusual rise in machine complaints this year.
Each selection on the ballot-marking device shows a checkmark, and a review screen appears before the PRINT CARD step. Voters should check the printed ballot too, since a scanned ballot cannot be changed. A poll manager can hand out a new blank ballot if the printed one is wrong.
Separately, the county says social media posts falsely claim poll workers will write on ballots so they get thrown out. Poll managers may not mark a ballot, and officials say even an accidental mark would not void it; the scanner still reads it and the votes count.
Early voting runs until 6 p.m. Saturday at the main voter registration office at 15 John Galt Road in Beaufort, the Bluffton Branch Library at 120 Palmetto Way, the USCB Hilton Head campus at 1 Sand Shark Drive and the St. Helena Branch Library. Bring a valid photo ID.
Section: More Beaufort SC politics news
Filed under: Beaufort SC Politics News
