Some Voters Turned Off by Public Declaration of Party

As voters headed to the polls Tuesday in South Carolina's First Congressional District, a few were reluctant to vote — not for failing to select a candidate or for failing to bring the proper identification as now required by state law, but because they did not want to and did not feel they needed to declare which primary they would vote in.

It's nothing new in South Carolina, but the last time it happened was the 2010 gubernatorial primary elections.

On Tuesday, Democrats and Republicans held a concurrent but separate special primary to select their nominees to fill the vacant seat left by now-Sen. Tim Scott. When voters arrived at polls, they were verbally asked by poll workers which primary they were voting in, and then handed a colored card so machine volunteers could use the correct cartridge. 

In Goose Creek, husband and wife Elbert and Inge Martin walked out of the polling location, refusing to declare and giving up their option to vote. 

"I am a U.S. citizen and I will not declare. That's my personal business and I will not share that with anyone," Inge Martin said, adding that she doesn't even disclose to her husband for whom or for what party she intends to vote — the secret to a marriage lasting more than 50 years. "That's my right."

Another would-be voter said he would not be voting in the primary because he didn't want his neighbors and friends to know his political beliefs. 

Pollworkers in locations throughout Berkeley and Dorchester counties also reported voters expressing dismay at having to publicly announce their political allegiance, though not many walked away from the polls like the Martins. 

"Every primary election we get some complaints about that, and we expect it," Dorchester County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Executive Director Joshua Dickard said. "Honestly we don't want to ask, but it's the only way we can pull up the correct ballots."

Dickard said he hadn't heard of people declining to vote in Dorchester County over the issue yet. He said there's no way around asking, and that pollworkers even ask questions to ensure people are voting in the correct party primary when the primaries are not concurrent. 

In the Lowcountry Tuesday, U.S. Department of Justice employees were present at polling locations. In Dorchester County alone, there were about 20, Dickard reported.

The only issue brought to his attention by the department was a single event: a person brought the wrong identification and walked out before voting.