About 240 were eligible to vote, but the totals mentioned add up to 85. Does that mean that almost two-thirds did not vote, or there was quite a scattering among other potential candidates? Huckabee, Christie, Perry, Kasich, Jindal, Fiorina, and Trump could have picked up a few votes apiece, but that would still leave more than half the eligible voters unaccounted for.
Perhaps someone in SC who went to one will post.
That’s how Iowa straw vote was years ago. People are picking precinct chairs and volunteering or competing for other party tasks. Straw votes are pretty informal and almost just for fun. Party regulars might consider them a distraction from less glamorous but necessary business.
Depends on how the vote was taken. A public vote might have potential party officers afraid to take a public stand for or against a candidate, especially this early. The tally may not have even been official.