Democratic leaders expressed frustration after a series of voting location changes in South Carolina resulted in widespread confusion just hours before polls were scheduled to close in the party’s first sanctioned primary of the 2024 election cycle.
Several polling locations were consolidated as part of a cost-saving measure for the Democratic presidential primaries, according to a state code implemented late last year. However, not all voters were aware of the changes as they traveled to their local precincts on Saturday — even resulting in a scheduling snafu by national Democrats traveling across the state.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison arrived at a voting location to give a news conference on Saturday morning, only to find that the polling place had been moved to another building roughly 2 miles away. Harrison criticized the move, claiming it amounted to a form of disenfranchisement.
“We’ve got to make changes in terms of how we vote in this country and to make sure that folks aren’t disenfranchised because of last-minute modifications and changes,” said Harrison, a South Carolina native and former U.S. Senate candidate.
The decision to consolidate voting locations was made roughly 60 days ago, with state officials scrambling to inform voters of the changes through text and call campaigns, according to Jay Parmley, executive director of the South Carolina Democratic Party.
“I really don’t like to use the word ‘consolidation’ because it’s not permanent,” Parmley said. “It is a grouping of precincts together to vote in a different location than they typically vote in a regular election. We face this all the time in South Carolina in primaries. Part of the reason we’ve been so vigilant in texting and calling is to let people know you need to check to see where your precinct is, where your voting location is for this election.”
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However, several Democratic officials argued the two-month window did not provide voters with enough notice, lamenting that the confusion could lead to lower turnout in an uncompetitive primary election that has already experienced less enthusiasm than the last cycle.
Polls are set to close at 7 p.m., and the race is expected to be called shortly thereafter in President Joe Biden’s favor. Still, Democrats are keeping an eye on voter turnout and Biden’s margin of victory as indicators of the president’s strength heading into the general election.
