Your voting precinct may change due to the coronavirus. Here’s what you need to know.
Horry County voting locations could be relocated for the June 9 primary due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a proposal submitted to the state.
State leaders have not postponed the upcoming primary that includes statewide and local races. The local voting location closures are a direct result of the Horry County elections office not getting enough volunteers to staff every location as normal and some locations backing out.
“We did not want to do this, but we have locations that won’t let us use them and a serious shortage on workers,” wrote Sandy Martin, director of Horry County’s Office of Elections and Voter Registration, in an email sent to local statehouse representatives.
Martin sent a list of the closures to Horry County’s statehouse delegation for their approval and not everyone has signed off on it. An official announcement should be coming soon with some changes.
There are 122 precincts in Horry County so the majority will remain open. If your precinct is closed, you will be required to request an absentee ballot or go to your new voting location listed below. Your precinct should be listed on your voter registration card or you can look it up online.
Absentee ballot applications can be requested online or by calling the Horry County Elections office at 843-915-5440. If you want to vote absentee, you should apply as soon as possible to make sure you get a ballot on time.
People qualified to vote absentee include those over the age of 65, members of the military, people with serious work conflicts, on vacation or a variety of other issues. A full list of people qualified to vote absentee can be found online.
Here is a list of all the proposed precinct changes:
- Aynor (Aynor Town Hall) to Dog Bluff (Aynor Elementary School)
- Forestbrook (Socastee Library) to Socastee #4 (Beach Church/Myrtle Beach Community Church)
- Galivants Ferry (Pee Dee Farms Store) to Dog Bluff (Aynor Elementary School)
- Garden City #4 (Magnolia Grove Clubhouse) to Garden City #3 (Seaside Elementary School)
- Hickory Grove (Kingston Baptist Church) to Shell (Bethlehem Baptist Church)
- Horry (Salem Baptist Church) to Cool Springs (Cool Springs Methodist Church)
- Joyner Swamp (Berea Baptist Church) to Methodist-Mill Swamp (Midland Elementary School)
- Marlowe #2 (Timberlake Baptist Church) to Glenns Bay (South Strand Recreation Center)
- Poplar Hill (Pleasant Union Baptist Church) to Cool Springs (Cool Springs Methodist Church)
Brownway (Pee Dee Elementary) to Jordanville (Highpoint Baptist Church)
Marlowe #1 (St. James High School) & Marlowe #3 (St. James High School)
Lake Park #1 (Socastee High School) & Socastee #1 (Socastee High School)
West Loris (James P. Stevens Building) to East Loris (Loris Elementary School)
West Conway (Horry County Justice Center) to East Conway (Conway Library)
Toddville (Union Methodist Church) to Port Harrelson (Bucksport Community Center)
Tilly Swamp (Tilly Swamp Baptist Church) to Dogwood (Chesterfield Baptist Church)
Socastee #2 (Palmetto Shores Church) to Socastee #3 (Forestbrook Elementary School)
Salem (Salem Methodist Church) to Wild Wing (Christ the Ser Lutheran Church)
Red Hill #2 (Centenary United Methodist Church) to Jackson Bluff (Sweetwater Branch Church)
Red Hill #1 (Waccamaw Elementary School) to Coastal Carolina (Seacoast Church Conway)
Palmetto Bays (Palmetto Bays Elementary School) to Emerald Forest #1 (Grand Strand Baptist Church)
Ocean Forest #2 (Claire Chapin Epps Family YMCA) to Myrtlewood #3 (Myrtle Beach Church of Christ)
Ocean Forest #1 (Fire Station) to Myrtlewood #3 (Myrtle Beach Church of Christ)
Ocean Drive #1 (Fire Station) to Crescent (North Myrtle Beach Community Center)
Little River #3 (Little River Fire Station #2) to Little River #2 (St. Paul AME Church)
Inland (Bucksport Library/EMS) to Port Harrelson (Bucksport Community Center)
Hickory Hill (Pleasant Meadow Baptist Church) to Live Oak (Live Oak Baptist Church)
Garden City #2 (Garden City Fire Station) to Garden City #1 (Garden City Baptist Church)
Dunes #2 (Lake Arrowhead Fire Station) to Dunes #3 (Risen Christ Lutheran Church)
Coastal Lane #2 (Mary C. Canty Recreation Center) to Coastal Lane #1 (21 st Ave. County Complex)
Cherry Grove #2 (Little River Neck Road Fire Station) to Cherry Grove #1 (Chapel by the Sea Baptist Church)
Additional precincts were added to this story after publication.
This story was originally published April 29, 2020 at 12:00 PM.
