As early voting begins in South Carolina, long lines show York County’s focus on voting

If you woke up Monday morning in York County thinking you were voting early to beat the lines on Election Day, you’re most likely in for a surprise.

“I’m not used to seeing such a large turnout,” said Eric Goodman, a voter who cast his ballot in Fort Mill on Monday morning. “And I always like early voting just to avoid big lines later. Yes, great participation so far.”

On the first day of early voting in South Carolina, lines numbered over 100 people at some of the county’s polling locations and stayed that way. At York Technical College in Rock Hill, voters lined up starting around 8 a.m. When poll workers opened the doors to the polling place at 8:30 a.m., the line stretched through the door, down the sidewalk and turned left onto the sidewalk.

At 10:30 a.m. the only thing that changed was that the line now turned right onto the sidewalk.

Voters like Elizabeth Wilson, a hairdresser who said she was glad to be able to vote before work, stood in the long line under cool but blue skies. Wilson said what many voters have already said – that she is ready to vote and find out where the country is headed.

“I’m ready to get it over with so I know I’ve done my part and I don’t have to think about it anymore,” Wilson said.

Wilson said she has “become quite political in the last few years.” Her focus is on the presidential race, but she’s also paying attention to local races in this round. York County residents vote on legislative seats, school board seats and referendums, including one on funding for road repairs.

“I try to pay attention because I know this is almost more important,” Wilson said of the local issues.

But it was the presidential race that drove most voters to early voting on Monday. And at other polling places in York County, voters said they were just as eager to get to a machine to cast their ballots as Wilson was.

At Clinton College in Rock Hill, husband and wife Shane and Nicole Carter left school early because they didn’t want to risk not being able to vote on Election Day itself.

“I have a job where I don’t always know exactly when I’m free,” Shane said. “I actually had today off, so it was great for me to be able to take advantage of early voting in my situation.”

“Because of my schedule and our children, it’s best for me to come out when a child is in school and I’m having the baby,” Nicole said. “It’s really, really important to come out [to vote] and I wanted to make sure that we didn’t have any other issues on Election Day that we weren’t able to vote on this year. “

She said the reason it’s so important to vote this year is because of what’s at stake for her and for women.

“I voted for women’s rights,” Nicole said. “That is critically important in this election.”

Beth Bramlett and her daughter Izzy — who voted for the first time this year at 19 and is excited about the possibility of a woman becoming president — agree.

“[I’m voting] to protect my rights,” Izzy said. “The right to abortion.”

The issue of bodily autonomy is not an academic matter for the Bramletts, Beth said.

“We had some family members who were struggling for health reasons and a change in the law might have changed their fortunes,” she said.

Beth, who considers herself an independent, said she also voted this year in hopes of seeing South Carolina become more purple in the coming years.

“I would like to see us become more diverse and competitive in the ticketing space,” she said. “I would like to feel like my voice, no matter what direction I go, can make a real difference in South Carolina. This time my vote may or may not have a real impact on South Carolina, but I hope it’s getting closer and closer and hopefully this time it will really be a turning point.”

In Fort Mill, Goodman said he voted on three big issues: the border, taxes and world wars.

“My wife has direct relatives in both Ukraine and Russia and she would like to see them,” Goodman said. “The fact that … we threw money at the side did nothing but perpetuate a war that could have ended very quickly.”

Goodman himself has family in Israel that he would like to see again.

“I would hope that this will hopefully lead to another four years of peace,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”