Election Day: Tuesday voter turnout in Rock Hill’s mayoral race called ‘average’
Sandra Nelson strolled into Rock Hill’s city hall shortly before 10:30 a.m. Tuesday to cast her vote in the Rock Hill’s mayoral race. Two minutes later, she walked out of the polling location with a blue “I Voted” sticker on the right side of her red jacket.
By 10:45 a.m., the precinct, which has less than 2,000 registered voters, had a little over 50 people come through.
Incumbent Mayor John Gettys is going up against York County Council member William “Bump” Roddey, who he defeated by less than 600 votes in a runoff election in 2017. Newcomer Ishmael Lowery, a self-proclaimed conservative, also is vying for the seat.
Although there’s just one seat up for election, Nelson, who’s lived in Rock Hill for 12 years, said she’s never missed participating in an election and wasn’t going to miss Tuesday.
“It’s always important to vote,” she said behind her white mask. “I’ve never not voted.”
A couple more voters wandered in as Nelson made her way to the parking lot.
Outside city hall, campaign yard signs for all three candidates were on display. An American flag swayed behind the signs.
By 11 a.m., about 25 people had come through the Newport Fire Department polling location on Hampton Ridge Road.
The precinct, which has a little less than 500 registered voters, has a small number of people who live in the city limits and are able to vote in the mayoral election, poll clerk Kaneisha Feemster said. As a result, she said she had to turn away a handful of people who planned to vote but actually live outside the city limits.
Those who were turned away Tuesday will be able to vote in the statewide primaries in June, Feemster said.
By noon, the polling location at the city’s Operation Center on Anderson Road had a slightly higher turnout.
About 62 people had come through, which included both the Anderson Road and Manchester precincts.
The site’s turnout was on par with what officials were expecting, said Clifford Smith, a poll clerk for the Manchester precinct. He said he anticipates more voters will come in the afternoon.
“This is about average,” he said. “We didn’t expect anything near presidential election levels.”
Rock Hill’s election was scheduled to include three ward races in addition to the mayoral seat. However, city officials decided to postpone the ward elections until February due to a delayed release of U.S. census data, which is needed for redistricting.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday for Rock Hill’s mayoral race and will close at 7 p.m. A runoff would be held on Nov. 2 if needed.
This story will be updated throughout the day. Check back for updates.
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 2:35 PM.
