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Beaufort County elections board to draft resolution on bill shifting poll-location authority and study precinct splits
Summary
The Board of Voter Registration and Elections directed its Legislative Affairs Committee to evaluate Senate Bill 36'which would shift poll-location authority to county boards and raise precinct-size limits'and to prepare a draft resolution focused on Beaufort County impacts for the March board meeting.
The Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections on Feb. 26 directed its Legislative Affairs Committee to prepare a draft resolution assessing Senate Bill 36, which the board said would shift the responsibility for establishing polling locations from the South Carolina General Assembly to county election boards and increase precinct-size limits from 1,500 to 3,000 voters.
Chair (Mister Sweeney) said the bill "is quite impactful on Beaufort County and our board of voter registration and elections," and asked the committee to evaluate how the changes would affect county voters and operations and to have a draft resolution ready for board approval in March 2025. The resolution, he said, would be intended for the county's legislative delegation.
The board and Director Miss Smalls repeatedly raised facility constraints as a central concern. Miss Smalls told the board Beaufort County lacks sufficient polling facilities for single-precinct requirements and said the resolution should explain that predicament to legislators. "We are always gonna be out of compliance because we just don't have the facilities," she said, noting Beaufort already has locations where multiple precincts are co-located.
Members discussed whether the statewide elections association identified in the meeting as "SCARE" had documented justifications for its priorities; Miss Smalls said the priorities came from discussion among membership and an executive committee vote rather than a written justification. Board members asked the committee to confine a draft resolution to Beaufort County's circumstances rather than endorsing a statewide position.
The board also charged the redistricting committee to recommend whether any of the county's precincts should be split. As of early February, the board noted eight precincts with more than 1,500 registered voters; the chair told members they must work backward from the November 2026 general election if they recommend statutory or legislative changes.
What happens next: the Legislative Affairs Committee will analyze local impacts and prepare a draft resolution for the board to consider at its March 2025 meeting. The redistricting committee will meet in March to outline scope and propose a timeline for any recommended precinct splits.
Authorities cited: the board referenced the South Carolina code requirement discussed in the meeting (cited in the transcript as "section 7 7 9 10") and Senate Bill 36 as the primary legal references for the discussion.
Sources: Board discussion led by Chair (Mister Sweeney) and Director Miss Smalls at the Feb. 26, 2025 Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections meeting.
