Problem fixed in Ward 17

Devon Copeland    The State    01 April 2008

A machine set up incorrectly for balloting in Ward 17 was replaced early Tuesday — but not before roughly 95 people had voted, according to the poll manager.

Brennen Elementary is in a split district, where some voters cast ballots for district 3, others for district 4.

But about 20 minutes after the polls opened at 7 a.m., poll manager Lou Fowler said workers realized ballot machines were displaying all City Council candidates .

The Richland County Election Commission was alerted, and county officials instructed Brennan poll workers to explain to voters which district they were voting in and which candidates were in that district.

Around 9:15 a.m., a new machine arrived.

“Nobody lost a vote, nobody failed to vote, everybody voted,” Fowler said, adding it wasn’t a huge problem because voting had been light in the morning.

Efforts to reach county elections director Mike Cinnamon late Tuesday morning to see what would be done about the 95 ballots cast before the error was found were unsuccessful.