By Betsy Finklea
There are a few things that voters need to know If they are planning to vote in the June Primary elections.
Those who wish to vote in the June 14th primary must be registered by Saturday, May 14th.
Voters may begin requesting absentee ballots immediately by calling the Dillon County Voter Registration Office. When the ballots are ready, they will be mailed.
Absentee voting in the Dillon County Voter Registration Office is expected to begin the week of May 16th.
According to www.scvotes.org, people qualified to vote by absentee ballot include:
—“Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine serving outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them”
—“Persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them”
—“Overseas Citizens
—“Persons who are physically disabled”
—“Students attending school outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them”
—“Persons who for reasons of employment will not be able to vote on election day”
—“Government employees serving outside their county of residence on Election Day and their spouses and dependents residing with them”
—“Persons who plan to be on vacation outside their county of residence on Election Day”
—“Persons serving as a juror in state or federal court on Election Day”
—“Persons admitted to the hospital as emergency patients on Election Day or within a four-day period before the election”
—“Persons with a death or funeral in the family within three days before the election”
—“Persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial”
—‘Persons attending sick or physically disabled persons”
—“Certified poll watchers, poll managers, and county election officials working on Election Day”
—“Persons sixty-five years of age or older”
—“Persons who for religious reasons do not want to vote on a Saturday (Presidential Primaries Only)”
As a reminder, it does not matter whether one voted Republican or Democrat in the Presidential Primaries back in February. It does not have any bearing on the June Primary. One can choose to vote Republican or Democrat regardless of how they voted in the Presidential Primary. Local elections will be in the Democratic Primary, and one will have to choose a party when they go to vote on June 14th.