The turnout in South Carolina's first-in-the-South Democratic presidential primary Tuesday easily topped the party's previous record in the state, although it still was dwarfed by the turnout from the last Republican primary.
Party officials said the event came off without major glitches, although hand counts made for slow tallies in some counties.
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ALAN HAWES/STAFF
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Tim Lewis (left) consults with Nancy Bloodgood over a paper ballot during the Democratic Primary ballot counting Tuesday night at the Charleston County Election Commission in North Charleston.
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With more than 15 percent of the precincts yet to be counted Tuesday night, turnout had topped 250,000. That already amounted to more than twice the turnout in the Democratic presidential primary in 1992.
The comparison is misleading, however, because Bill Clinton had already wrapped up the nomination by the time the race came to South Carolina, giving voters less of a reason to show up.
More than half a million South Carolina voters participated in the 2000 Republican primary between Sen. John McCain and George Bush.
Still, the turnout heartened Democrats. "We're talking close to triple what we did in '92," said Joe Erwin, head of the state party. "It should make President Bush at least cognizant of what matters to South Carolina voters."
Erwin said there had been no major problems and that the primary should give the party a boost in South Carolina.
"This was a great chance to rebuild," he said. "We're back in the game."
Locally, officials said the day went smoothly, although vote counts were slow in both Charleston and Dorchester counties.
At 12:30 a.m., only 124 of 186 Charleston County precincts were tabulated. Edwards was winning 41 percent of the votes to Kerry's 31 percent.
In Charleston County, election workers were still counting ballots by hand hours after polls closed, and the count seemed likely to stretch through the night. Election machines sat unused while more than two dozen people sat at tables counting ballots by hand.
Mullins McLeod, chairman of the county Democratic Party, said there were no glitches, but that physically counting the ballots took time. "We are being deliberate and accurate," he said. Other large counties, however, finished their counts well before Charleston County.
McLeod said turnout appeared strong in Charleston County.
Susan Saylor, a poll worker at the St. Andrews 27A precinct, said she was impressed by the steady stream of voters.
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GRACE BEAHM/STAFF
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Tara Bailey helps the Rev. Wendell W. Sumter of Summerville prepare to vote Tuesday at the Cuthbert Community Center.
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"The voters were really excited," she said. "I haven't seen that in a long time."
Saylor said 110 voters cast ballots in the historically Republican precinct. Typical general elections draw about 700 voters, she said.
Despite offering fewer delegates than some of the other states with primaries Tuesday, South Carolina drew extensive national attention, partly because of its large number of black voters.
Poll workers in local precincts with substantial black populations reported solid turnout.
In the hour before polls closed, voters had to wait in a short line to cast ballots at Burke High School. The turnout was "fantastic," said poll worker Ruth Johnson. "It hasn't been this way in quite some time."
Voters cited an array of reasons for participating.
West Ashley resident Allison Smith said she always votes, regardless of the election. She said her first choice had been Howard Dean, but she decided to cast a ballot for John Edwards because she believes he has a better chance to win.
Sadie Fox, a West Ashley resident who cast a vote for Edwards, said she is ready for a change in the White House. "I don't have a right to complain if I don't take action, and I've done a lot of complaining in the last four years," she said.
