SC Ping
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Posted on 06/15/2004 6:44:16 PM PDT by SC Swamp Fox
Williams wins Senate 30 recount
FLORENCE -- Kent Williams will face Sen. Maggie Glover in a runoff election June 22 for the state Senate District 30 seat.
The runoff was decided Monday after a mandatory recount. The state Election Commission ordered the recount because there was a difference of less than 1 percent between Williams and Tim Norwood for the second place position in the June 8 Democratic primary. In the original count, Norwood beat Williams by six votes.
In Monday's recount, Glover had 6,218 votes, Norwood had 5,765 and Williams had 5,772.
Williams filed a protest of the results with the state Democratic Party Executive Committee on Monday before the recount was finished. The protest, naming Dillon, Florence, Marion and Marlboro counties' election commissions as defendants, alleged the election commissions failed in their responsibility to properly count absentee balloting. The protest also alleged that the commissions "caused irregularities, errors, problems or illegalities in the election."
Williams said even though he ended up winning second place in the recount, garnering him a runoff spot against Glover, he might not withdraw his protest.
"Right now I still have some concerns because something has to be done to keep this from happening again," Williams said after learning he'd secured a runoff position.
Now Norwood is thinking about joining in Williams' protest of the election.
"It's been a very contentious election and a very volatile election. One count we're up by seven, in the recount we're down by seven," Norwood said. "Mr. Williams has already filed a protest, and we're thinking about joining his protest."
Norwood said he's heard complaints from voters that they were told by poll workers they couldn't vote in the Democratic primary because they were Republicans.
"They were asked the wrong question by the poll workers," Norwood said. "They were asked 'Are you a Republican or a Democrat?' and they should have been asked 'What primary would you like to vote in?' We feel like that forced a lot of our supporters to vote in the Republican primary where they couldn't vote in the Senate 30 race."
Norwood said he has heard hundreds of anecdotal incidents in which voters were told they couldn't vote in the Democratic primary. Williams agreed with Norwood.
"There were poll managers misleading voters, telling them they had to vote in the Republican primary when they wanted to vote in the Democratic primary," Williams said.
Williams also complained in his protest that absentee voters weren't notified that their ballots would not be counted because of irregularities. According to state law, an absentee vote must be signed by the voter and a witness, and it must be received by the election commission by the time the polls close on election day. Many ballots were thrown out of the June 8 primary because of irregularities, but Williams said those voters should have been notified.
"The law says that the voter has to be given reasonable notice that their ballot hasn't been counted," he said.
In his protest Williams also calls for a new election, which Norwood said he might agree with.
"Mr. Williams is calling for a new election in his protest, and we're thinking about joining him in that protest," Norwood said.
In Marion County, where Williams picked up 30 votes in the recount, there were 17 more ballots counted than there were on election night.
The Marion County Election Commission spent nearly five hours recounting the election three times before the numbers came out right.
But Williams could withdraw his protest of the primary election, in which case Norwood would have to file his own.
He has until Monday to file a protest.
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Armstrong's brother has got to be better than Glover, anyone would be...
Norwood behind Williams by 7
Results Remain Under Review
IF YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF PRIMARY ELECTION IRREGULARITIES OR VOTER FRAUD, PLEASE CONTACT TIM NORWOOD AT 843-292-XXXX
The funny part of that e-mail is that all of the EXPERTS in Election Irregularities and Voter Fraud probably work for the Glover campaign. They are just honing their fraud skills in preparation for the November elections.
Thanks, Swamp Fox. I was afraid of this.
By ANDY COLE
Morning News
FLORENCE -- State Senate District 30 candidate Tim Norwood will file a protest of the June 8 Democratic primary today.
Norwood narrowly lost a runoff spot against Sen. Maggie Glover in the race after a mandatory recount put Kent Williams in the second place spot Monday. Norwood originally was declared the second-place finisher in the race, and the June 10 certification verified that.
But because there was less than 1 percent of the vote count separating Norwood and Williams, a mandatory recount of the election was ordered by the state Election Commission. That recount put Williams ahead.
In his official protest being filed today, Norwood will ask for the June 8 election to be declared invalid and another election to be held. He cites irregularities in the absentee votes, ineligible voters and improper instruction at the polls as reasons for declaring the election invalid.
"There were dozens of voters' signatures missing on the voters lists," Norwood said. "There were irregularities in a number of the absentee ballots and the signatures. We know of 23 absentee ballots that we're questioning."
Norwood said many of his complaints mirror a protest filed by Williams on Monday before the recount. One of those complaints centers around the way voters were instructed at the polls.
Both Williams and Norwood allege that voters were asked what party they belong to, and those who responded Republican were told they had to vote in the Republican primary. That excluded them from voting in the Senate District 30 race because all candidates were Democrats.
Norwood said the improper instruction was the result of poor training of poll workers.
"I think probably they were doing the best they could, but there was a training issue that was causing the problem," he said.
Norwood also said his campaign has identified several felons who voted. Anyone convicted of a felony is ineligible to vote under state law.
"Including absentee balloting, we've been able to identify nine felons who should not be eligible to vote, voting," Norwood said.
Norwood's protest, like that of Williams, will be heard by the state's Democratic Party executive committee. William's protest is being heard Thursday afternoon and Norwood said he hopes the committee will hear his at the same time.
"I think we've gone past getting a fair and accurate count of the election, and I don't think we can get that unless we have another election," Norwood said.
Norwood files Protest. He claims felons voted, some signatures are missing from the voter lists and poll workers gave inappropriate instructions.
What did he expect? It is a Democratic primary. He is demanding another election. His protest will be heard by the SC Democratic Party executive committee. This is Maggie Glover's seat, place your bets on what their decision will be....lol.
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By ANDY COLE
Morning News
FLORENCE -- The S.C. Democratic Party's executive committee will hear protests filed in the June 8 primary today.
The two races being protested are the Senate District 30 race in Dillon, Florence, Marion and Marlboro counties and the House District 122 race in Jasper County.
Candidate Kent Williams, who won a runoff spot against incumbent District 30 Sen. Maggie Glover after a recount of the election, filed a protest with the state Democratic Party on Monday. The protest alleges several irregularities at the polls, mishandled absentee ballots and misinformation given to voters by poll workers in all four counties.
Another candidate in the race, Tim Norwood, who lost the runoff position after the recount, filed a protest Wednesday alleging the same irregularities and that several known felons had voted in the election. It is against state law for a felon to vote.
"We have documentation from the State Law Enforcement Division that several people who voted were felons," Norwood said Wednesday. "We're not confident that there's been a fair and accurate count of the vote, and we're not confident of the election process itself."
But the party's executive committee won't hear Norwood's protest today, said Michelle MacRina, interim executive director of the S.C. Democratic Party.
"We will accept Mr. Norwood's protest," said MacRina. "And it will be presented to the executive committee."
There are 54 members on the Democratic Party's executive committee, 40 percent of which must be present at the meeting to constitute a quorum. MacRina said she did not know whether the committee would rule on either protest at today's hearing.
"It's up to the executive committee whether they want to make a decision immediately or later," she said. "Whether they hear Mr. Norwood's protest or not will also be up to them to decide."
The executive committee of the Democratic Party could rule the election invalid, and order another election just for the Senate District 30 seat. If the party did order another election, it will not stop the June 22 runoff from occurring, according to officials at the state Election Commission.
The hearing of the protests of the June 8 primary will be at 5:45 p.m. today at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
The hearing of the protests of the June 8 primary were heard at 5:45 p.m. today by the SC Democratic Party Executive Committee at the University of South Carolina School of Law. If anyone knows what the outcome was please post to this thread.
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