Horry County voters turn out early for historic election

Voters line up to vote using absentee ballots at the voter registration office in Conway

By: Rusty Ray | SCNow
Published: October 28, 2008

The lobby of the Horry County Registrations and Elections office in Conway is a busy place these days.

Thousands of people continue to line up to vote using absentee ballots in advance of Tuesday's general elections.

"I think this is the type of election that will bring people who never voted before out to vote this time," said first-time absentee ballot voter Edward Williams of Surfside Beach.

"I've been here 25 years, and the highest we ever had was 7,000 absentee (ballot voters)," said Sandra Martin, elections director. "We've already had close to 12,000 now," she said.

Many standing in line say this year's historic presidential election--where Barack Obama could be the first black man elected president or Sarah Palin could become the first woman elected vice-president--means more people are turning out to vote, and no one really wants to stand in a long line on Tuesday.

"I know we've become great Americans, and see that there is a need for great diversity," said Candice Bellamy. "There's not just one race running," she said.
"It was coming," said Libby Atkinson. "Things are evolving."

Still others say this year's election is a sign of things to come in America.

"America is a very diverse place," said Antonio Williams, who is registered to vote in Aynor, but now lives in Savannah, Georgia.

"It's a great thing, no matter if you're black, white, asian, woman, or man," he said.