COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 194-page legislative audit council report found several instances of voters potentially breaking the law and vulnerabilities at county election offices and storage facilities.
"This is a serious problem, and I think this is going to be a good opportunity for us to get something cleaned up with our election roles that people have been complaining about for quite some time," said Rep. Annie McDaniel, one of the legislators on the Richland County Delegation that oversees the county election office.
The report found multiple county election offices lacked proper lighting, cameras, locks, or backup power generators.
The audit said that despite having federal funds available for security upgrades, the state election commission didn't give enough money to make the fixes needed. However, the report said it's ultimately up to the counties and their leadership to make the changes.
The report said an inspection of the Richland County storage site for voting machines found a padlock on a gate that could easily be cut and no security cameras.
The report said there was a whiteboard inside the facility with passwords to the voting machines that had the phrase "Don't give this code out." Rep. McDaniel said there were already changes in motion to address these issues.
"I know for a fact that Richland County - they have secured a new place to store their equipment, and they're in the process now of getting that equipment updated so that the equipment can be properly stored," she said.
In response to the overall report, the State Election Commission (SEC) released a statement that the commission welcomed the review, saying in part:
"The SEC has created a new audit division, a new training division, and taken steps to create ... consolidated, statewide standardized procedures for voter registration and elections."
You can find the complete response to the audit here.