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Beaufort County residents won’t have the chance to vote early on Hilton Head Island this year after Town Hall said it could no longer handle the huge demand for early and absentee ballots. The state allows residents over 65 to vote absentee before Election Day, but the town is eliminating its early voting option after the flood of county residents taking advantage of the program continued to grow.
In 2008, for example, the town handled 6,284 absentee ballot voters, more than 5,300 of which were walk-in voters. A third of those — more than 2,100 — were non-Hilton Head residents. Town officials said several factors led to their decision, including spatial constraints at Town Hall, the strain of using town staff to work the polls, which meant shutting down the clerk’s office and library for two months, and the extra staff including temporary workers needed to handle the crowds.
Assistant town manager Greg DeLoach said financial costs were not a factor in the decision. State law requires counties to maintain a voter registration office that includes an absentee ballot feature, but Beaufort County is the only county that operates two absentee offices. Residents can still vote early at the Beaufort voter registration office or through the mail. The town has recommended the county set up its own offices in southern Beaufort County, which county officials may be considering.
