Staff Writer

Unless you've already requested a ballot be sent to you by mail, anyone wanting to vote absentee in next Tuesday's runoff is advised to do so in person.

Election commission chairman Keith Vanderford said that absentee ballots for Tuesday's Democratic and Republican runoffs are available at the voter registrar's office at 320 East Main St. During the primary, 130 people who voted absentee in the primary requested absentee ballots for the runoff. Those ballots are being mailed today.

Although a person can ask for an absentee ballot for the runoff by mail, Friday is the last day the commission can mail them. Before that can happen, however, a person must request an application, which the commission would mail to them. The application has to be filled out and returned to the commission, which will then mail the ballot. The ballot must be filled out and returned to the commission by no later than 7 p.m. Tuesday

Given the lack of time, persons wanting to vote absentee in the runoff should do so at the registrar's office, which would ensure that the ballot would be counted, Vanderford said.

Persons qualified to vote absentee include those who will be out of the county on the day of the runoff; those over 65; those who suffer from a physical disability; and those whose job will not allow them time off from work to go to the polls while they're open.

For more information, contact the Union County Voter Registrar's Office at 429-1616.

Recount

A recount of the race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate produced no changes in the local vote totals for the two candidates.

A statewide recount was ordered by the S.C. Election Commission of the race between Michael Cone and Bob Conley. Each received 50 percent of the ballots cast in the Democratic primary. In Union County, Cone received 1,576 votes while Conley received 2,850 votes.

Conley was declared the winner after the statewide recount and will face Republican incumbent Lindsey Graham in November.

Lockhart

Because of the runoff election, Lockhart Town Council will meet at 7 p.m. Monday instead of Tuesday.

Town Clerk Brenda Cameron said council decided to move the meeting up a day in order to accommodate the runoff. Lockhart Town Hall serves as the polling station for the Lockhart precinct.