On Nov. 4, over 70,000 Aiken County registered voters cast ballots in the general election. That day capped more than 18 months of preparation, culminating in a successfully administered election.
Although the last ballot has been counted, the work will continue for the Registration and Elections Office. First, there is the post-election paperwork that must be completed, including more than 1,000 changes of address and new registration forms.
Preparation for the 2010 and 2012 election cycles will begin now. Our board and staff are evaluating our processes to determine areas of improvement. Input is received from election workers and voters as well as our own experiences.
One area of improvement will be the better application of technology. Some precincts placed the voter registration list on laptop computers, instead of on paper. This enables voters to be processed more quickly.
However, we discovered a flaw. Several precincts that had more than 1,400 voters were given only one laptop, so wait times in line were longer than we liked. It is unfortunate that we learned this lesson at the expense of voters. We will take action to ensure that it does not happen again.
Another area of review will be the creation of new voting precincts. As the county grows, some voting precincts become too large. In 2009, we will review several precincts around the county and recommend to the legislative delegation the creation of new precincts or alterations in the lines of others. Aiken County last completed a major precinct realignment in 2002. Since that time, the number of registered voters has grown approximately 29 percent, from 72,000 to 92,000.
A number of municipalities in Aiken County will be conducting elections in 2009. We will either provide support or conduct the entire election in six municipalities next year. In addition, we will conduct a special election for another municipality in February.
Office vacancies occur regularly in Aiken County. Since 1998, 17 special elections have been conducted in Aiken County, almost two a year, as a result of deaths or resignations.
A state and federal legislative issue to watch in 2009 is early voting. Currently, in South Carolina, a voter under 65 years of age must sign an affidavit stating a reason for voting absentee. With the incredible interest in the presidential election, there is clamor among some groups to allow for early voting, that is voting before Election Day, without requiring a reason. Financial costs of early voting will need to be weighed.
Though there will be no national election in 2009, the Registration and Elections office will be working hard to ensure that every vote matters and every vote counts.
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