LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — There will be plenty of races on the ballot come this November all across the Midlands. In Lexington County, that includes mayoral races, council races and two special elections in West Columbia and Lexington School District Four's school board.
That means it's time to make sure you're registered to vote in Lexington County, as there are big municipal elections coming up.
"It's really important to be registered to vote because some of these, we call them smaller elections, these ones are very important - who you're going to put in those city seats, your mayor seats," Lexington County Elections Administrator Lenice Shoemaker, said.
Shoemaker said that casting your ballot can create the change you'd like to see. She tells News 19 that in Lexington County, a candidate has won with as little as 11 votes.
You need to have your voter registration at least 30 days before the election, and you need to have your address and name changes in by then, too, according to Shoemaker.
Shoemaker said anywhere from 5-700 people a week are calling their office about moving to a new address or changing other info.
Barriers to voting can include voter ID laws, registration deadlines and driving restrictions, but if you know about these things early on, there's time to prepare, and a team of people at the Lexington County Elections Office willing to help you.
"We have curbside voting for someone with a disability, or let's say you've had a surgery, and you're unable to get out of your car. Those are reasons that you could, you can come into the curbside line and we will help you vote at curbside," Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker tells News 19 in the last five years, according to scvotes.gov, voter turnout in the county has ranged from around 194,000 to 211,000, but turnout is much lower than 100%.
Shoemaker said hopes that changes this time around with early voting available in the municipal election cycle.
Early voting is October 24 - November 3, 2023.
