NEWBERRY, S.C. — Early voting has begun in the City of Newberry, but not without issues.
Early voting is underway in South Carolina for the 2023 municipal elections that include more than 200 races across the Palmetto State.
In Newberry, the mayor is running for re-election with opposition, two council members are running for re-election with no opposition, and a District 5 candidate is running for re-election with opposition.
The problem is some early voters say they aren't seeing the correct races on the ballot.
“We're trying to find answers, voter Chris Elliott said. "We wanna make sure that there is no question of legitimacy cast on this because it's a local election. It’s very important.”
Elliott said he voted the moment early voting started. He said his ballot was right, but some of his friends say theirs wasn’t.
"Lo and behold, there were people on the ballot who were supposed to be in a different district,” Elliott said.
We reached out to the South Carolina Election Commission, which said the city of Newberry passed a redistricting map in July of 2023 but, for some reason, it wasn’t implemented.
“From what we know of the situation ... Again, the new lines were passed middle of July. The county found out about it at some point in August, and those new lines were not implemented by the county, SC Election Commission Public Information Officer John Michael Catalano said. "Why? I’m not sure.”
We reached out to the City of Newberry about the issue, and they referred us to the county, which responded with the following statement.
“Newberry County Voter Registration and Elections is in the process of addressing the redistricting for the City of Newberry.
As of today (October 27, 2023), Newberry County Voter Registration and Elections is currently in the process of redistricting approximately 500 residents of the City of Newberry. This will be completed, no later than Monday, October 30, 2023, close of business.
To date, 132 residents have voted in the City of Newberry General Election. Of those ballots cast, three were affected. According to state law, once a ballot has been cast there is no recourse. We are encouraging all City of Newberry voters to confirm the elections they are supposed to vote.
Residents can do this one of two ways: they can call Newberry County Voter Registration and Elections at 803-321-2121 or by going to the SC Election Commission website.
According to South Carolina State Law, voters are only mailed new voter registration cards when they change precincts, not districts. Therefore, new cards will not be mailed out."
“It's basically because we’re all voting by secret ballot," Catalano said. "Once that ballot is dropped into the ballot box and cast, there is no getting it out.”
The 500 voters impacted cross all six districts in the county.
Republican State House Representative Joe White said it’s unacceptable for this to happen.
“There is one thing, in my opinion, we should always get right, and that is making sure that every voter gets to vote correctly and that every vote is counted,” White said.
Early voting for continues from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through Friday, November 3.
Election day is November 7.