Primary encourages Democrats

Exhausted but pleased, S.C. Democrats said they hope the encouraging turnout in their first presidential primary since 1992 bodes well for November.

By 9 p.m., Democrats were projecting roughly 200,000 votes had been cast.

But there were a few glitches.

Some volunteers failed to show. Other polling places could not open.

One problem area was Horry County, where voters who had hoped to cast ballots in at least 20 precincts found closed doors and instructions to vote elsewhere.

About 20 of the 300 scheduled Horry County volunteers did not show up Tuesday, forcing local volunteer coordinator Sarah McCollum to combine precincts at the last minute. She spent the morning rushing around rural Horry County, taping instructions onto as many doors as she could.

The collapsed precincts were the biggest problems in Horry, but they were not the only ones. McCollum said one volunteer got lost on the way to his precinct. Another got angry and walked off his post midafternoon.

“We’re getting through it,” McCollum said with a sigh at about 5 p.m. But she said she would not volunteer for the coordinator job again. “You couldn’t pay me enough.”

But most of the 1,956 polling places in the state opened without a problem, officials said.

One polling place in Chester County had to be moved because the heat was not working properly. Another on the Isle of Palms was moved from a building under construction, said Democratic Party executive director Nu Wexler.

At Martin Luther King Memorial Park in Richland County, voters were made to sign a pledge swearing they were Democrats, even though the party had nixed the oath the day before.

And ballot boxes for Richland’s Crayton and Alcorn middle schools were switched, causing Alcorn to open 90 minutes late.

But party officials said overall they were thrilled.

“The level of excitement we’ve had in this state has really built and built,” said Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin.

South Carolina is one of two states that require political parties to pay for and run their presidential primaries. Precincts across the state were run by volunteers.

When Erwin was elected chairman in May, the party was all but broke. Some critics wondered whether Democrats would be able to find the money and the volunteers to pull off the primary.

Democrats said they raised more than $600,000, taking advantage of campaign finance laws that allowed them to keep the sources secret. They said they drummed up 5,000 volunteers to run the polls.

A few controversies arose, including one over the weekend about whether voters would have to swear they were Democrats in order to vote. Erwin pulled the pledge Monday after the party’s phone lines were jammed with complaints from people saying it would keep independents away.

Several of the volunteers Tuesday were Republicans or independents who normally work the polls for the state.

That was the case at Amick’s Ferry Fire Station in Chapin, where Angie McClam arrived to set up at the polling place at 6:25 a.m.

“I said this is the least I could do for my country,” McClam said.

By about 8:30 a.m., they already had 30 voters — more than they thought they’d see all day.

Some Amick’s Ferry voters said they were angry at President Bush, so they voted for U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

“We need somebody who was not born with a silver spoon in his mouth,” said Bo Hunter.

At Alcorn Middle School in northwest Columbia, volunteers delivered Danish pastries and subs, courtesy of Mayor Bob Coble and Richland 1 school board member Damon Jeter.

Voters in the largely black precinct were interested in Edwards as well.

“I mainly vote Democratic, but I also vote for who I think is the best person,” said Raymond Newton, a Vietnam veteran who chose Edwards over U.S. Sen. John Kerry, also a Vietnam vet.

“He (Edwards) seems to be a good man for the job.”

Reach Talhelm at (803) 771-8339 or jtalhelm@thestate.com.