The almost three-hour waiting game that resulted in no final vote tally in Aiken County during South Carolina’s primaries on Tuesday was what one person called a “worst-case scenario.” Aiken County was the only county that did not report to the State Election Commission by Wednesday morning. Only by 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday were unofficial partial votes tabulated for the state to report. “The worst that can happen has already happened – you having a delay in reporting your complete county results,” Chris Whitmire, State Election Commission spokesman, said. A State Election Commission technician was sent to the Aiken County Government Center early on Wednesday to troubleshoot why candidates, the press and residents were unable to view any tabulated voting results – both absentee and electronic – until almost 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
At the end of the night and on Wednesday morning, no votes were posted on the State’s website, www.scvotes.org – not even absentee or partial.
As sparse election results trickled in, rumors floated that the office was experiencing some mechanical problems or lag time due to the number of precincts dropping off ballot boxes all at the same time after polls closed at 7 p.m.
That lag created frustration for the candidates, voters and media, and many questions are still lingering.
Full Article: Twice in a row, County hit with election difficulties | Aiken Standard.