Election Problems in 1996

1996 was a memorable election. I was not living in Beaufort back in 1996, but I remember standing in a long line in a Jasper County precinct for that election day.

Beaufort County had some issues, too, as a document transferred into the BDC, "1996 - Report on General Election of November 5, 1996," explains. Unlike most local government documents, the purpose was clearly stated on the cover: "The purpose of this report is to provide the general public with a better understanding of the duties of the Board of Elections and Voter Registration, a more accurate knowledge of the causes of problems in the General Election of November 5, 1996, and a statement of the Board's plans to provide more trouble-free elections in the future."  Members of the Board of Elections at that time were: James W. Richardson, Chairman; Martha K. Baumberger; Gregory D. Shorey; Jennie S. Green; Teresa A. Steen; Artie A. Heape; Lawrence Washington, Sr., and Barbara J. Lippard. Agnes M. Garvin was the Executive Director of the Board. 

In 1996, there were approximately 50,000 registered voters in Beaufort County. (In 2020, the numbers for Beaufort County are 95 precincts and 138,180 registered voters).  Interest was high due to the presidential contest. There were a lot of amendments proposed to the 1895 South Carolina Constitution that remains the fundamental document of state government -  and given that most state legislators tend to also be lawyers, those amendments were about as clear as mud.

That year was a three-way presidential race. POTUS #42, Bill Clinton, was running for re-election against Bob Dole, the Republican presidential candidate and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot. President Clinton was re-elected with 379 Electoral College votes and 49.2% of the popular vote. Bob Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp carried 19 states, North Carolina to Mississippi, and the mountain west along with Indiana for a total of 159 electoral college votes and 40.7% of the popular vote. Although Ross Perot received more than 8 million popular votes, he did not earn any electoral college votes. 

A number of "Election Day Problems" were cited: Long lines at precincts; Insufficient number of voting machines at precincts; Unequal distribution of registered voters per precinct; Incorrect voter registration cards; Family members voting in different precincts; Inadequate polling sites;  Inadequate Poll Manager training; Issues with absentee voting; and Disenfranchisement of voters. The biggest issues for the Board of Elections were that the ballot on the day was very long due to the number and complexity of the amendments to the South Carolina Constitution and the large number of write-in votes.

According to the report, a number of the issues arose from inadequate voter preparation. As a result of reading the document, I learned that in 1996 - and still - by South Carolina law 7-13-740, a voter is allotted 5 minutes to vote once s/he is left alone in the private ballot booth. Voters who refused to follow that law in 1996 cried "foul" and "voter disenfranchisement" at the poll managers who were doing their best to enforce the rules. 

It is important to remember, I think, that the number of people residing in Beaufort County had grown substantially during the 1990s which meant that precincts changes - enacted by state legislation and approved by the US Justice Department - had occurred. Many voters had not verified the location of their 1996 polling place.

The Board of Elections acknowledged that the poll managers could have been better trained - and promised that in future a poll manager would have to be certified every three years rather than five years in hopes of guaranteeing a more efficient and up-to-date corps of trained managers.

There were parking and size of polling places issues as well. Then as now, the Board of Elections relies on donated premises for the day as polling places. Many are in public buildings such as libraries, schools, or fire stations but sometimes there are other places utilized, such as sport arenas in 2020. [Which by the way, I think was a fabulous idea where possible].    

Given that I am writing this in the midst of the 2020 pandemic when 100 million American voters cast ballots before election day, the absentee turnout in Beaufort County of 3.7% in 1996 seems minuscule. 

There were even more issues in the conduct of the election that political nerds will enjoy reading. The document is in our Research Room under call # SC 324.97579 REP 1997. You can make an appointment (gracec@bcgov.net or 843-255-6446) to come read it for yourself.

Reminder: All units of the Beaufort County Library, including the Beaufort District Collection, will be closed on Wednesday, November 11th to observe Veterans Day. Regular hours resume Thursday, November 12th. Because the BDC continues providing access by advance appointment only, please contact me on or before Tuesday, November 10th if you'd like to come do research on Thursday, November 12th or Friday, November 13th. 

If you'd like to delve deeper into history of election problems in Beaufort District, the rough-and-tumble times of the Reconstruction Era and the Counterrevolution of 1876 aptly described in Rebellion, Reconstruction and Redemption by Stephen R. Wise and Lawrence S. Rowland (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 2015). I encourage you to read Chapters 19 and 22 carefully.