Officials say early turnout high in Chester County, one of 5 pivot counties in SC
The first week of early voting in Chester County is off to a strong start, officials say.
Chester Supervisor of Elections Karen Roach said early voting, which started Oct. 5, has been higher than previous elections.
“It’s been so busy, we can’t even take lunch,” poll volunteer Candy Gore told The Herald. She said voting has been “busy and steady.”
State data shows that Chester has 20,615 registered voters. Roach confirmed that 1,294 early ballots have been submitted in person, and 3,000 total when you include mail-in ballots.
The polls are open for the general election. However, if a voter lives in the city of Chester, they also can vote early in the special election to fill the vacant City Council Ward 4 seat.
Voters who are registered in Chester County can go to 109 Ella Street to vote early. Information on voting absentee can be found here.
Masks must be worn to vote.
Voter participation in Chester County will be important this year, with a sharp eye on election night.
Chester is one of five South Carolina counties identified by Ballotpedia as a “pivot county.” The other counties are: Calhoun, Barnwell, Colleton and McCormick counties.
Ballotpedia is a nonprofit organization self-described as the “digital encyclopedia of American politics and elections.” It provides nonpartisan data to educate voters and candidates.
Chester voted for Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012, but “pivoted” to Donald Trump in 2016, when Trump won South Carolina.
Since 1960, data gathered by Ballotpedia shows that Chester has chosen democratic candidates in 66.67% of presidential elections and republican candidates in 33.33% of presidential elections. The county chose 10 democratic presidents and 5 republicans. In 12 of those 15 elections, Chester matched the national result.
The US Census bureau found that in 2016, Black voter turnout declined for the first time in 20 years while Latino and overall nonwhite voters held steady. In Chester County, 36.8% of residents are Black (compared to 13.4% nationally), and data shows the county followed the national trend.
Both overall voter participation and “non-white” voter participation fell in Chester in 2016.
In 2012, according to state data, 69.54% of overall registered Chester County voters participated in the national election. In 2016, state data showed 67% participation.
About 44.5% of total voters in Chester were listed as “non-white” in 2012. This number fell to 39.7% in 2016.
While the “non-white” vote is not broken down by race, only 5.4% of Chester residents belong to non-Black minority groups; the majority of non-white citizens are Black.
This leaves the question of who Chester will choose.
Ballotpedia writes that “The political shift in [pivot] counties could have a broad impact on elections at every level of government.”
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 12:17 PM.
