Larry Smith won the majority of votes in Conway’s city council election Tuesday night.

Six-term incumbent Mayor of the City of Marion will face opposition in April’s election. To vote in the election, city residents must be registered by March 14.

A non-partisan voting issue was a hot potato before Florence City Council got cranked up Monday, but it became searing by the time it was thrown into the coals.

Three candidates are in filling the Conway City Council seat left vacant by current Mayor Alys Lawson.

The Florence County Voter Registration and Elections Commission’s cramped conference space came under fire during Wednesday’s meeting at the former main county library on South Irby Street.

Councilwoman Retha Pierce wins election for Atlantic Beach mayor.

Florence City Council made no progress Monday afternoon on a proposed ordinance to have a public referendum to let voters decide whether city elections should remain partisan or be non-partisan.

A new year also means new public officials in office.

The Atlantic Beach Election Commission met Wednesday to set a date for another mayoral election in the town, the second in weeks in the town. Town councilwoman Retha Pierce won two previous mayoral contests in the town, but election troubles, criminal charges have caused courts to overturn the results.

Mayor-elect Alys Lawson was declared the official winner and said now it’s time to get to work.  Lawson said her plans for the future of Conway include making the city larger. 

Two Atlantic Beach residents asked the South Carolina Supreme Court to issue an injunction in the Atlantic Beach mayor’s race, seating Councilwoman Retha Pierce as the new mayor of Atlantic Beach.

The unofficial results have Alys Lawson, with just over 50 percent of the overall vote, as the winner of the special election needed to replace Mayor Gregory Martin, who died in September.

Conway voters are heading to the polls to choose a new mayor. There are four candidates who are running for mayor, Mayor pro-tem Alys Lawson, Councilwoman Vivian Chestnut, former councilman Leslie McIver, and political newcomer Russ Calhoun.

The town of Atlantic Beach still does not have a mayor. After counting the contested votes Thursday morning, no candidate received a majority of the votes to win.

School board incumbent Ronald Bessant, lost his final appeal in the Horry County School Board District 9 election in Columbia Wednesday afternoon before the State Elections Commission.