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NewslettersMachines fail to register local votes
BLUFFTON — A day after an error was discovered on paper ballots that might affect the outcome for multi-seat, at-large elections, voters complained in Bluffton that electronic machines didn't register their votes. Three of four candidates for Bluffton Town Council say they have received complaints about Hilton Head Island's election office from residents voting absentee in person.
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The three candidates who said voters have reached them with absentee voting problems — Jeff Fulgham, Normand "Gus" Thomas and incumbent Fred Hamilton — said Tuesday that voters had been reporting problems since last week.
Bluffton residents Nancy and Bill Roe noticed a problem when they voted Friday.
Nancy Roe said she selected all her choices on the screen at the booth. She had been attempting to cast a ballot for the general election, Bluffton mayor and council, and the various state ballot questions.
She said she clicked on all her choices — including two candidates for Town Council.
But when she reviewed her selections before actually casting the ballot, she noticed her two picks for the Bluffton Town Council did not register. Her husband had the same problem.
With the assistance of a Hilton Head employee, the two attempted to cast their ballots a second time. Again, it didn’t work.
They resolved the issue by casting paper ballots for the council race.
"I'm really political, so I checked the ballot," Nancy Roe said. "If I had only given it a quick glance and punched 'vote,' I never would've known."
Although she did cast a paper ballot, Nancy Roe said she was upset other people might have missed out on voting in the Bluffton council races.
"I live in Bluffton. That race is important to me," she said.
It is unclear how many Blufftonians have cast absentee ballots so far. It is also unclear how many of them might have missed the council vote.
Agnes Garvin, county election director, did not return a number of calls to her office and mobile phone throughout the day Tuesday.
In Beaufort, candidates were upset about flawed ballots voters received in the mail over the weekend. Those ballots had excluded directions on how to vote for candidates running for the Beaufort City Council, Bluffton Town Council and Fripp Island Public Service District. The ballots should have said voters can choose only two candidates in the races.
The county election office said it is trying to contact people who received absentee ballots without the directions to let them know their options.
"It seems every election we have, we have problems," said Mike Sutton, a city council member and candidate for mayor. "It does concern me greatly that these weren't proofed the way they should have been. I mean, that's their job, isn't it?"
Council candidate Gary Fordham said the error was "inexcusable."
"With the election two weeks away, I hope they can get the problem cleared up," Fordham said. "That is a lawsuit waiting to happen if a candidate decides to take the case. If I lose the race, I think I'd have good grounds to appeal it."
Conversely, Beaufort City Council candidate Harley Laing figures the problem was caught in time. "Given the fact that it happened before the election, my reaction is that it can be corrected and will not cause a significant problem."
The Bluffton candidates said Tuesday they were upset by the snags in absentee voting so far this election season.
The election office "needs to ensure this won't happen again," candidate Fulgham said. "This isn’t something silly like hanging chads. This is something that is preventable. They should have systematic checks beforehand."
Candidates Hamilton and Allyne Mitchell echoed those comments, saying the problems should have been addressed before voting began.
Hamilton said he's gotten calls from three voters who said they also experienced problems voting for the Bluffton council.
Candidate Thomas said a voter contacted him with a problem similar to that reported by Bill and Nancy Roe. He said a board of elections employee told him the town council vote might have still been cast, even if it didn't appear on the screen used by voters to review their ballots. It is not clear if that is the case, he said.
"I would've thought they would have had all these bugs worked out before the election," Thomas said. Reporter Nathan Gill contributed to this story.
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