Tag: Clif Smith

Absentee Vote Glitch Affects Two Horry County Primary Election Races

Grand Strand Daily has learned that a computer glitch caused incorrect absentee vote totals to be credited to candidates Tuesday night resulting in a change of results for two Horry County primary election races.

According to sources involved in the process, an apparent fault was first discovered Wednesday morning in the absentee vote totals credited to the Horry County Council District Five candidates.

The sources said that some of the absentee vote totals are stored in a computer prior to election night, those being the early voters in the county. Other absentee votes are registered on paper ballots that were cast in the traditional absentee method.

When the paper ballot vote totals were added to the computer vote totals, the addition of approximately 300 extra votes were credited to candidate Clif Smith, according to sources. None of the other candidates received the benefit of extra votes.

Anti-Incumbent Fever Rages in Horry County Primaries

Anti-incumbent fever raged through Horry County primaries Tuesday as five of six incumbents running in contested primaries lost.

One of the causes for the upsets, if you can call them that, was the pitiful, approximately 13%, voter turnout countywide.

The only survivor was S.C. House District 56 representative Mike Ryhal who won in a rematch against challenger Dennis DiSabato who Ryhal defeated two years ago to win the new house district seat.

The two biggest surprises of the night were the losses by incumbent S.C. House District 104 representative Tracy Edge and by Horry County District Three council member Brent Schulz.