This is what you can expect on your local ballot this election day
On Dec. 15, 1789, the first American electorate took to the polls. At the time, the presidential candidate ran unopposed. Uncontested elections are common on the local level, as seen in Horry County.
With the 2018 Midterm election only days away, Horry County voters too face a ballot with many uncontested races, but a few local races remain undecided.
County council
The only county council seat currently contested is the District 7 seat. Residents of southern Conway and down the U.S. 701 corridor are eligible to vote between incumbent Harold Phillips and challenger Orton Bellamy.
The two candidates faced off back in 2016 following the retirement of county council emeritus James Frazier. Phillips won the three-way Democratic primary with over 50 percent of the vote.
In this election Bellamy is running as a Republican.
The race for the county council chair seat was largely decided in June when incumbent Mark Lazarus conceded the election to challenger Johnny Gardner. The race ended in dramatic fashion after 200 unaccounted votes were found days after the official election day.
Barring a successful write-in campaign, Gardner will take over as council chair next year.
Other council members also are running unopposed. These include council members Johnny Vaught, Tyler Servant, Bill Howard, Al Allen and Harold Worley.
Vaught initially faced a Libertarian challenger, who ultimately did not receive his party’s nomination when “none of the above” received more votes than he did.
While not an election for a candidate, voters will also have a question regarding impact fees on the ballot. County Council voted in August to put a non-binding referendum asking voters how they feel about the idea of a fee imposed on new development to help pay for county services to the new construction.
Impact fees was one of the key issues during the primary race. County Council members intend to use the referendum to decide how to best approach imposing such fines in Horry.
School board
Two Republican incumbents face Democratic challengers for seats on the Horry County Board of Education.
Republican Holly Heniford, of District 1, is running for a second term. Heniford is a graduate of Loris High School and former member of the Horry County Planning Commission, according to her online board profile.
Heniford is being challenged by Democrat Michael Paul Gore, who graduated from North Myrtle Beach High School and has worked as a teacher for the past 14 years, according to his online biography on the Horry County Democratic Party website.
In District 10, which represents parts of Carolina Forest, Conway, Green Sea Floyds and Loris, Republican Neil James is running for a third consecutive term. James, an engineer for Santee Cooper, has served as interim board chair since the former chairman Joe DeFeo died in May.
James is being challenged by Democrat Shakedra Jenerette, who was born and raised in Loris and served in the Army Reserves for 20 years, according to her online HCDP biography.
Ken Richardson won the Republican nomination in July to become the new board chairman and does not face a Democratic challenger.
Go vote!
Tuesday, Nov. 6 is the big day. Even without many locally contested elections to chose from, voting is still a fundamental cornerstone of American republicanism.
Despite a shorter local ballot, at the state level, you’ll be asked to choose South Carolina’s governor and attorney general.
A notable election affecting Horry County is the race for the U.S. House of Representatives District 7 seat. The race is between incumbent Tom Rice and challenger state Rep. Robert Williams.
Sample ballots, polling locations and lots of other voter resources are available at SCVotes.org to help make election day smooth and patriotic.
This story was originally published November 5, 2018 at 9:18 AM with the headline "This is what you can expect on your local ballot this election day."