Heavy Turnout made for Busy Day at the Polls in OC

Of the 49,687 registered voters in Oconee County, 27,500 cast ballots in the 2018 Midterm Election on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. The 55% turnout made for a very busy day at the polls, says Oconee County Voter Registration and Elections Director Joy Scharich. “I would have to say this was an extremely heavy worked election from start to finish. I think it was shocking for the turnout. We are just glad that everybody did well.” Election returns were slow to tabulate due to computer issues, adds Scharich. “There was a database correction that we had to do and we wanted to make sure we got it right before we put anything out there, so we were delayed a little bit, but it is all right.” Scharich thanks her staff and all the poll workers for their hard work on Tuesday. “They were overwhelmed, we thought we had plenty of workers, a normal amount that we would have in an election like this and they were over worked and over worked. Even in the bad weather people turned out, so it was a very busy day.” Results must still be canvassed and certified, concludes Scharich. “Well, we will start the audit process in just a few minutes, which will probably take me into the early hours of the morning. There is a lot of data to collect and compare and make sure that it is all accurate then I will turn that into the state. Then we will canvass all the votes. I have no idea what paper ballots are out there, I’m sure there are plenty and then the commission will meet on Thursday at 9am.” The Oconee County Elections Commission will meet in the Conference Room of the Oconee County Administrative Offices on Pine Street in Walhalla. To see statewide election results, visit www.scvotes.org.