Voters cast ballots across Beaufort County. Here’s what turnout looks like at the polls

Election Day started on a quiet but patriotic note Tuesday in Beaufort County, but lines built through the morning at some precincts on Hilton Head, Bluffton, Beaufort and St. Helena Island.

As voters waited to cast their ballots just before noon at The School for the Creative Arts on Hilton Head Island, John Gilbert, one of three poll clerks for precincts Hilton Head 1B, 4D, 4B, said there was up to a two-hour wait due to “good turnout and not enough machines.”

The parking lot at the Hilton Head Island library was mostly full, with cars continuously trickling in to claim the remaining spaces. A line of voters waited to get into the building. Those toward the end of the line could expect to wait about 50-60 minutes, said poll worker Fred Goulet.

Hilton Head voter Linda Mulcahy said she waited about an hour before she was able to cast her ballot. Once she was able to get inside and noticed that there were only five voting machines, she said she realized why the wait had been so long.

The long wait didn’t bother her, though. “You got to do what you got to do,” she said.

Voter Debra Davis left the Hilton Head Presbyterian Church precinct around 12:25 p.m. She said she had waited about 35-40 minutes to vote. “The poll workers were so pleasant and helpful,” she said.

Voters at the Bluffton library waited in a line that wrapped around the outside of the building on Tuesday morning.

Jean Felix, chairperson of the Beaufort County Election Board, said at noon that everything was running “smoothly.”

There were no issues with people getting the incorrect ballots as it happened with about 70 people during the primary election in June, she said.

Felix said the lines on Hilton Head and in a Bluffton were typical for midterm elections in Beaufort County. She added that no complaints had been filed about wait times.

Just after 1 p.m., Felix shared an update about turnout numbers.

“We had 27,196 for early voting, and so far today we’ve had 22,195. So total for this election we are at 49,391 at this point. That’s 37% total turnout,” she said, adding that those numbers were consistent with what was expected for a midterm.

A few blocks from the heart of downtown Beaufort, a steady stream of voters quietly made their way into the Charles L. Brown Center to vote.

First-generation American Ozzy Quintanilla put it simply when asked why he came out to vote: “It’s everyone’s duty.”

Quintanilla, an educator who taught social studies and government in the center when it was a school, said he always told students the importance of making their voices heard through the power of voting. It’s a privilege, he said, and one that his Salvadorian parents fought for.

Nearly 10 miles away at the St. Helena library, poll workers said the location had since quieted from the small line that built up before the doors opened at 7 a.m.

The precinct’s clerk, Roosevelt McCollough, calmly answered voters’ questions and handled what he called “easy to resolve” electronic issues.

McCollough’s got 25 years under his belt working for voter registration office, and he’s been clerking the library location since it opened in 2012.

“Experience makes it easier,” he said with a smile.

Early voting may have lowered the number of voters on Election Day, he noted, adding that not as many people showed up as he had anticipated.

Outside the library, McCollough and a handful of poll workers wheeled out an electronic voting machine so 87-year-old Beaufort resident John Trask Jr. could cast his ballot from the car his son drove. Trask was backing Democratic candidate for governor Joe Cunningham.

Libertarian Francis Todd Peavy said it was hard for him to find candidates who align with his values, noting that he had Republican Sen. Tim Scott at the top of his list. However, Peavy said he is interested in South Carolina politics getting “new blood,” noting that Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham has held one of the state’s U.S. senate seats since 2003. Graham is not up for reelection until 2027.

One St. Helena resident who’s lived here a short two years and declined to give her name said recent Supreme Court decisions, like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, brought her out to the first day of early voting.

The election is more than fulfilling a civic duty for her, she explained. It’s more about securing the future for her grandchildren.

”I want to wake up tomorrow and still be living in a democracy,” she said before walking away to pick up a library book.

A short line of people at Lady’s Island Middle School enjoyed a warm sun as they stood waiting to vote before lunch.

“It’s been steady,” said poll worker Frank Hamilton.

Hamilton, who’s been manning the polling location for about four years, added that the usual problems popped up — someone moved and they didn’t realize their precinct changed, for example. But it’s been nothing out of the ordinary or too difficult to tackle, he said.

One Lady’s Island resident said she was disappointed in the lack of accessible information for Beaufort County voters on some races.

She said she “scouted” for details before casting her ballot, but still found herself in the dark while voting for the county’s Soil and Water District commissioners.

“I don’t care about their political party,” she said of the candidates. “I just want to know their qualifications.”