MYRTLE BEACH Absentee ballots have started coming in ahead of the special primary election for Horry County Council chairman.

Lisa Bourcier, Horry County spokeswoman, said 31 absentee ballots have been received by mail. Another 56 registered voters have cast ballots at the county’s voter registration office, and 94 ballots have been mailed out upon request.

There are approximately 174,258 registered voters in Horry County, according to Sandy Martin, with voter registration.

Those wanting to vote absentee ballot have until March 11 to do so.

Absentee ballots can be cast at the Horry County Registration and Elections Office at 1515 Fourth Ave. in Conway.

This will be the first election in Horry County since the new voter i.d. law went into effect, which means registered voters must show one of the following: S.C.driver’s license; i.d. card from the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles; S.C. voter registration card with photo; federal military i.d.; U.S. Passport.

Curbside voting will also be available for any voter because of a physical handicap or aged 65 or older who cannot enter the polling place.

Unofficial results from the election will be posted on the county website at www.horrycounty.org.

The five council chairman candidates are: County Councilman Al Allen; former County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland; Debbie Harwell, former member of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors; former County Council member Mark Lazarus; and former council candidate Fonzie Lewis.

County police changing precinct boundaries

In an effort to increase efficiency, the Horry County police department is changing the precinct boundaries, said spokesman Sgt. Robert Kegler.

The changes will take effect Friday morning and will evenly distribute the call volume between the precincts. Kegler said the realignment will likely result in quicker response times.

Currently, the south precinct handles 40 to 50 percent of the overall call volume. That will change under the realignment.

“One of my goals is to provide more efficient service to the community, which in turn will allow the officers in some of the areas more time to actually follow up on some of the crimes that are occurring in their assigned areas,” said Horry County Police Chief Saundra Rhodes. “Right now, many of the officers only have time to respond to a call, take a report and move on to the next call for service. Hopefully, this realignment of service areas will spread the call volume enough to allow for those follow-ups.”

Art exhibit continues at county government building

The CREATE! Conway Invitational Art Exhibit continues at the Horry County Government and Justice Center.

The exhibition is the first of its kind at the government building and is being used to showcase a diverse selection of Horry County artists. The display, which runs through April 19, is a partnership between CREATE! Conway and the Horry County Government and Justice Center..

It is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The government center is at 1301 Second Ave. in Conway.

Contact BRAD DICKERSON at 626-0301 or follow him at Twitter.com/TSN_bdickerson.