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ELECTION DAY: Polls open at 7 a.m. across South Carolina

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ELECTION DAY: Polls open at 7 a.m. across South Carolina


CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – Voters who did not take advantage of early voting in the Palmetto State will be able to cast their ballots starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

Polls will be open through 7 p.m. statewide. Any voter who is in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast their vote.

Click here to check your voter registration.

Click here to find your polling place.

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Click here to see a sample ballot based on your precinct.

Over the last two weeks, a record number of South Carolinians — just over a million-and-a-half people either in person or via mail — voted early. That’s about 46 percent of the state’s registered voters. But unlike the early voting period, voters who will cast ballots on Election Day must go to their specific polling locations.

Voters must have a valid photo ID to check-in. Acceptable forms of photo ID include a South Carolina driver’s license, a South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card, a South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit, a South Carolina voter registration card with photo, a United States military ID and a United States passport.

READ MORE: Your 2024 general election voter guide

If you still have an absentee ballot, the return deadline for those is 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to return their ballots in person to ensure it is received before the deadline.

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The State Election Commission says if you’re voting Tuesday, it’s hard to predict how long you might have to wait in line, though typically more people go in the morning. But they say South Carolina’s strong early voting turnout should help with overall wait times.

Multiple organizations including the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, the South Carolina Coalition for Voter Participation and the Airport Limo Taxi Association at the Charleston International Airport are offering free rides to the polls.

The biggest battle in the 2024 general election is the race for the White House between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.

But for the Lowcountry, U.S. Congressional races will decide who represents the state’s First, Sixth and Seventh Districts.

In the First District, which includes portions of Berkeley and Beaufort Counties as well as portions of Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Jasper Counties, incumbent Republican Nancy Mace is hoping to keep her seat as Democrat Michael Moore challenges.

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Democrat Jim Clyburn, first elected to represent the Sixth Congressional District in 1992, faces a challenge from Republican Duke Buckner and three others. That district covers all or part of 14 South Carolina counties, including all of Williamsburg County and portions of Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Jasper and Orangeburg Counties.

South Carolina’s Seventh Congressional District, which covers all or part of eight counties, including Georgetown County, features a fight for votes between incumbent Rep. Russell Fry, a Republican; and challenger Mal Hyman, a Democrat.

Lowcountry voters will also select the state‘s Ninth Circuit Solicitor, the top prosecutor for the state’s Ninth Circuit. Republican incumbent Scarlett Wilson is facing a challenge from Democrat David Osborne. The Ninth Circuit covers Berkeley and Charleston Counties.

Two other Lowcountry solicitor candidates are unopposed. Solicitor David Pascoe, a Democrat, is running unopposed in the First Circuit, which covers Calhoun, Orangeburg and Dorchester Counties. In the Fourteenth Circuit, which covers Allendale, Colleton, Hampton, Beaufort and Jasper Counties, Republican Duffie Stone is also running unopposed.

In six Lowcountry counties, voters will decide who will be sheriff. In Charleston County, incumbent Democrat Kristin Graziano faces a challenge from Republican Carl Ritchie, the former police chief in Mount Pleasant. In Colleton County, Buddy Hall, a Republican; faces a challenge from Democrat Alyssa Bodison. Dorchester County Chief Deputy Sam Richardson, a Republican; hopes to defeat Democratic challenger Charles Frederick III. And in Georgetown County, Republican incumbent Carter Weaver is fighting Democrat Birt Adams for the job.

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Democratic incumbent Sheriffs Leroy Ravenel of Orangeburg County and Stephen Gardner of Williamsburg County are running unopposed.

Most of the coroner‘s races feature a single candidate. But in Charleston County, Democratic challenger Frank Broccolo is hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Bobbi Jo O’Neal.

In Charleston County, Democratic incumbent County Treasurer Mary Tinkler is hoping to keep her seat against Republican challenger Mike Van Horn.

The election includes scores of races in the South Carolina State House as well as Lowcountry county council and school board members.

In South Carolina, members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms while members of the Senate serve four-year terms. But in this year’s election, every seat in both houses will be up for reelection.

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All South Carolina voters will also decide whether the state’s constitution must be amended to prohibit non-citizens from voting in the state.

Voters in different counties may face additional ballot questions. One of the most watched ballot questions will likely face Charleston County voters, who will decide on renewing a half-cent transportation sales tax that will generate nearly $5 billion for road projects, including the completion of the Mark Clark Extension project, and $432 million for greenbelt projects.

Polls will close at 7 p.m. statewide. The counting of the ballots will not begin until that time, although State Election Commission officials are confident all of the state races will be decided by the end of the evening.



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Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’

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Nancy Mace’s foul-mouthed airport tirades roil race for South Carolina governorship as rival slams ‘spoiled brat’


New disclosures of a foul-mouthed tirade by Rep. Nancy Mace in the Charleston airport have roiled the South Carolina governor’s race and ignited angry accusations between the lawmaker and one of her competitors in the Republican primary.

Her rival, state AG Alan Wilson, called Mace a “spoiled brat” who treats cops like “servants,” at a time when the two of them are furiously competing for support from voters – and President Trump.

Mace back in August called herself “Trump in high heels” and acknowledged “I would really like his support for governor.” So far, Trump hasn’t given it – to anybody.

An investigative report by the Charleston Airport Authority quotes police officers and TSA agents who say Rep. Nancy Mace used foul language while trying to get expedited security processing FOIA via Charleston Regional Aviation Authority

Mace this week slammed an internal Charleston Airport Authority investigation that probed her profanity-laced “spectacle” Oct. 30, when Mace chewed out police officers and TSA agents over expedited security for her outbound flight, after a planned VIP escort fell through.

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New details are still coming to light – including an earlier incident in April where Mace allegedly blew up at agents who wouldn’t let her bring a family member through expedited security, according to the investigation report. 

“This is the only airport that gives me s–t,” she complained, according to one of the numerous law enforcement officers interviewed as part of the probe.

The investigative report was obtained by The Post through a public documents request.

One interviewed TSA agent quotes Mace as telling a cop following the botched Oct. 30 escort for her arrival at an airport gate, “I’m sick of your s–t, I’m tired of having to wait.”

Another officer, an explosives tech, described Mace as being “very nasty, very rude.” She said she could hear Mace calling police officers “f–king idiots” and “f–king incompetent” and stating that she was a “f–king representative.”

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“This is the only airport that gives me s–t”, Mace said, according to testimony in the report AP

Yet the airport was “not busy at all” at the time of the incident, the officer said.

A TSA agent said during the interaction Mace “literally was on that phone talking and texting her life away” as well as “saying rude things,” according to the investigative report.

One TSA officer who had been at the airport 23 years told investigators “every VIP or whomever, dignitary, that we’ve been across and had to deal with, we never, never had this problem.”

Mace hired an attorney and threatened weeks ago to sue the airport over the October incident, but has yet to do so.

One officer noted that the airport was not crowded the morning of Oct. 30 when Mace had her meltdown FOIA via Charleston Regional Aviation Authority

The report revealed the April confrontation when agents wouldn’t let Mace bring a family member through expedited security. TSA later let her take family members with her when she got screened.

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“I thought that the way she acted showed a sense of entitlement – [that] she is entitled to special protection, she is entitled to special treatment. When she doesn’t get special treatment, she throws a tantrum. To me that harkens back to a child not getting their way,” Wilson told The Post in an interview.

“These are public servants, not personal servants,” he said of law enforcement at the airport.

State AG Alan Wilson said Mace was behaving like a “spoiled brat,” and is challenging Mace in a fierce race for governor of South Carolina. AP

Mace told CNN in an interview this week the report had been “falsified,” without providing evidence. In response to Wilson’s “brat” comment, she wrote: “Imagine being ‘Attorney General’ and flying 500 miles for the sole purpose of dismissing death threats against a single mom.”

She told The Post she has received numerous credible death threats, and said on Friday a judge denied bond to a man accused of making online threats against her. She said during the April incident TSA had violated its own policy allowing federal officials to bring a guest and separated her from her child.

Mace has been taking her case to the airwaves in a week where she trashed the House Republican leadership in a Washington Post op-ed.

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A consultant to Mace’s campaign, Austin McCubbin, resigned Dec. 1, accusing her of turning her back on MAGA and trying to “hug the political cactus that is the [Sen.] Rand Paul [and Rep.] Thomas Massie wing of the Party.”



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A Stronger Rail Network Is a Win for South Carolina’s Economy – FITSNews

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A Stronger Rail Network Is a Win for South Carolina’s Economy – FITSNews


“The combined rail system would offer the reliability our business community has been asking for…”


by NATHAN BALLENTINE

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For as long as I’ve served in the South Carolina House, I’ve believed that strong infrastructure is the backbone of a strong economy. Whether talking about roads, bridges, broadband, or freight mobility, our ability to efficiently move people and goods determines how competitive our state will be in the decades ahead. South Carolina continues to grow at one of the fastest rates in the country, and with that growth comes a responsibility to ensure our logistics network can meet the demands of modern commerce.

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That is why the proposed merger between Union Pacific (UP) and Norfolk Southern (NS) deserves thoughtful consideration, not just at the national level, but here at home. South Carolina’s economic success is directly tied to reliable freight transportation. From advanced manufacturing in the Upstate, to the distribution and warehousing centers in the Midlands, to the countless businesses that depend on steady supply chains, every region of our state relies on a freight system that works smoothly and predictably.

When freight rail is fragmented across multiple networks, bottlenecks and delays become far more common. Businesses, especially those operating with tight production schedules and narrow delivery windows, feel the impacts immediately. A delayed railcar can throw off inventory planning, disrupt operations, and create ripple effects that stretch across an entire supply chain. These unpredictable slowdowns can be enormously costly for the companies that keep South Carolina’s economy moving.

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The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger aims to address many of these longstanding challenges. By creating a unified network connecting more than 50,000 miles of track and linking 43 states with over 100 ports nationwide, the combined rail system would offer something our business community has been asking for: reliability. Studies indicate the merger could generate approximately $1 billion in annual cost savings and improve freight-car velocity by around 10 percent. These aren’t abstract figures, they reflect tangible improvements that would strengthen operations for employers, distributors, retailers, and consumers alike.

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“Economic development teams would also have an even stronger pitch when attracting new employers to South Carolina…”

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A more dependable rail network means companies can plan with greater precision, suppliers can manage logistics with fewer surprises, and transportation partners can commit to schedules with increased confidence. Economic development teams would also have an even stronger pitch when attracting new employers to South Carolina: not just a skilled workforce and business-friendly climate, but a transportation network capable of supporting long-term growth.

Improved rail performance also benefits South Carolina’s infrastructure more broadly. Rail is one of the most efficient ways to move goods long distances. Every shipment that travels by rail instead of truck reduces congestion on our highways, lowers fuel costs, and decreases wear and tear on roads that taxpayers ultimately fund. Better rail capacity complements, rather than replaces, our ongoing efforts to invest in roads and bridges across the state. It allows us to stretch transportation dollars further and focus on the improvements most needed in fast-growing communities.

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Another important factor is competitiveness. States across the Southeast are aggressively investing in logistics infrastructure to position themselves as national leaders in manufacturing and distribution. If South Carolina wants to stay ahead, and continue attracting companies that create stable, high-quality jobs, we must support improvements that strengthen the reliability and efficiency of our freight network. The Union Pacific–Norfolk Southern merger presents an opportunity to do just that.

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RELATED | SOURCES: S.C. LAWMAKERS THREATEN SUPREME COURT

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As someone who has spent nearly two decades advocating for responsible, forward-looking growth in our state, I believe that modernizing our freight system is not just a transportation issue, it is an economic necessity. Ensuring that goods can move quickly, safely, and predictably is fundamental to the success of our businesses and the financial well-being of South Carolina families.

Federal regulators will ultimately determine the path forward, and their review should be thorough and transparent. But from where I sit, the potential benefits to our state are clear. A more integrated, efficient rail system will help South Carolina businesses compete, help consumers by keeping costs lower, and help our state maintain the strong economic momentum we’ve built over the past decade.

A stronger rail network means a stronger South Carolina, and that is a future we should fully support.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Nathan Ballentine (Provided)

Nathan Ballentine represents the citizens of House District 71 in the S.C. General Assembly.

***

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LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts

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LIVE: SC AG Alan Wilson, state, national leaders hold press conference on statewide drug busts


Statehouse Reporter Mary Green will have more on this tonight.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – South Carolina Attorney General and other officials will be holding a press conference Friday at 9:30 a.m. to talk about statewide drug busts.

Wilson is set to be joined by South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel, representatives from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security, as well as several local sheriffs and other law enforcement partners.

Watch the full press conference in the video above.

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