Satellite voting offices for absentee ballots closed

Much shouting, arguing and two executive sessions led to a fairly ambiguous end to an emergency meeting Monday but resulted in the closing of satellite voting offices for absentee ballots.

Those wishing to cast an absentee ballot in Aiken will have to do so at the Aiken County Election Commission Office on Vaucluse Road and not at any previously designated areas.

An emergency meeting of the Registration and Elections Commission was held Monday evening after officials received a letter from a Simpsonville attorney challenging the legality of receiving votes outside the main office.

Actually, the Election Commission moved absentee voting from a Kalmia Hills location to its own office Monday morning. Prospective voters were directed to the commission office and long lines followed.

Marge Glauser said there were few parking places and those for people with disabilities were already taken.

"I'm upset," she said. "I'm over 65 and disabled from a knee replacement. I was told I was going to have to stand in line, and I was so loud that somebody did bring me a chair. It's not fair that they're not taking care of people with disabilities."

The process would have been easier at the Kalmia Hills location, Glauser said.

The Simpsonville attorney, Todd Kincannon, 27, practices in Columbia and is a major player in the S.C. Republican Party, serving as counsel and parliamentarian. Kincannon attended the meeting and stated his case repeatedly that his interpretation of the applicable statutes meant only voting at a specific location.

Kincannon, who has been practicing law for less than a year, has already received awards from the State GOP and has written amicus briefs for them to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The commission opened the meeting and then went into executive session to "discuss absentee precinct locations" and "(hear) from the county attorney."

After 15 minutes, the meeting began again and Vice-Chair Melanie Hutto made a motion to only have voting in the office.

This motion never saw a vote.

Aiken County attorney Jim Holly stated that the statute does not allow for outside offices to handle absentee ballots and that any cast at those stations may be challenged in court and those votes thrown out.

"I'm afraid there would be successful challenges," he said. "I can't risk the voters ballots (not being counted)."

Representatives from the State Election Commission had previously told Holly that satellite balloting would be permissible.

"It's a question of law based on interpretation of the statute, something I've been doing for 30 years," he added.

An hour of unorganized open discussion about the specifics of the statute followed. Community members, elected officials and organization leaders all chimed into the debate that was dominated by Rev. Brendolyn Jenkins, president of the Aiken Branch of the NAACP.

Jenkins and many others asked the panel to defer their vote and seek information from the State Election Commission rather than accept the conclusion of Holly.

Questions were also raised wondering why this specific question was being asked on this specific date. All commission chairman Kevin Bumpas would say was that a letter was received from a Greenville County resident. The resident was Kincannon, though he did not identify himself until the discussion seemed to sway the panel.

Hutto withdrew her motion, and more discussion followed.

"If a decision is made, it should come down on the side of making it easy to vote," said Rep. Bill Clyburn. "People are beginning to get suspicious."

Jenkins, Clyburn and others asked that the decision be delayed so that the State Election Commission could render an official decision on the issue. Much of the assembled crowds' ire fell on Kincannon.

"What is your interest here?" one bystander kept asking, forcefully. "You are from Greenville, not Aiken."

Kincannon stated he was not trying to disenfranchise any voters but rather to make sure every ballot cast would count.

The second executive session began quickly and lasted another 15 minutes. As soon as open session was restored, Hutto made another motion; this one was unanimously and immediately accepted.

"I make a motion to suspend satellite voting pending further review," she motioned.

No parameters were stated for what this "review" would entail.

The meeting immediately closed, but the discussion continued.

"This is a desperate Republican trick to disenfranchise voters from coming out in record numbers for this election and coming out for both parties," said Jenkins.

Jaime Harrison, an attorney for the State Democratic Party, said his party will send a letter to the State Election Commission asking them for clarification of the law.

Senior writer Rob Novit contributed to this article.