UNION — The people of Union County have until noon Saturday to register to vote in the November general election.

On Nov. 6, registered voters in Union County will go to the polls and help decide a variety of municipal, local, countywide, state, federal and other offices including who will be the next president of the United States. To take part in that process, however, a person must be registered to vote, and the deadline to do so is fast approaching.

Darlene Pettit, Union County Voter Registrar, said Tuesday that Saturday is the last day residents can register to vote in this year’s election. Pettit said her office will be open from 9 a.m. until noon Saturday to give Union County residents who are unable to register during the week a final opportunity to do so. She said persons wanting to register to vote must bring with them photo identification and fill out the registration form.

Pettit said persons who want to send in their registration form by mail can pick it up at her office or online at www.SCVotes.org. The completed registration form must be returned to her office by noon Saturday or postmarked Saturday. She said those who register by mail will have to present their photo identification at the polls whereas those who register in person will not have to do so.

Absentee Voting

The absentee precinct is now open for residents who will be unable to go to the polls on Election Day.

Anyone wanting to vote absentee has the option of either doing so in person at the registrar’s office or obtaining an absentee ballot and returning it by mail or in person. Pettit said that while absentee ballots can be cast anytime during the remainder of the election cycle, they must be returned to her office by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. Nov. 6.

Ballots

The races to be decided in November range from the presidency of the United States to seats on three local fire boards and the large number races requires a large number of ballots.

Keith Vanderford, Union County Election Commission Chairman, said Tuesday that there will be a total of 63 ballots filed in the county on election day. Vanderford said this is due to the number of races and the number of single-member districts involved.

“We’ve got three state senators, each one of them in a separate district,” Vanderford said. “We’ve got four county council members, each one of them is in a separate district. Then you’ve got school board divided into districts. You’ve got the mayor of the City of Union and city council. The Town of Carlisle mayor and city council. You’ve got three fire commissions, all of them in separate districts.

“We’ve some precincts that have only one style of ballot, and then we have others that goes up to eight or 10 styles,” he said. “They vary according to how many splits there are in each precinct.”

Races

Countywide, voters will have the opportunity to vote in seven races, on an amendment to the state constitution, and on a referendum on changing the county’s form of government.

President And Vice President

In the race for president and vice president, voters will choose among the following parties and their respective presidential and vice presidential nominees:

Republican — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

Libertarian — Gary Johnson and James P. Gray

Democratic — Barack Obama and Joe Biden

Constitution — Virgil Goode and Jim Clymer

Green — Jill Stein and Cheri Honaka

U.S. House Of Representatives District 5

In the race for the U.S. House of Representatives District 5 seat there are three candidates:

Republican — Mick Mulvaney

Democratic — Joyce Knott

Working Families — Joyce Knott

State House Of Representatives District 42

In State House of Representatives District 42 there is only one candidate:

Democratic — Mike Anthony

Solicitor Circuit 16

In the Solicitor Circuit 16 there is only one candidate:

Republican — Kevin Brackett

Sheriff

In the race for Sheriff there are three candidates:

Petition — Marshall Adams

Petition — William Jolly

Democratic — David Taylor

Clerk Of Court

In the race for Clerk of Court there are two candidates:

Republican — Freddie Gault

Petition — Melanie Lawson

Soil And Water District Commission

In the race for a seat on the Soil and Water District Commission there is only one candidate:

Nonpartisan — Henry L. Sprouse

Amendment

Voters will also decide whether to approve an amendment to the state constitution which would allow the governor and lieutenant governor to be elected jointly as the president and vice president are. If approved the governor and lieutenant governor will run on the same ticket and the lieutenant governor will no longer preside over the S.C. Senate. The Senate will instead elect its own presiding officer.

Referendum

Voters will also be asked whether or not the county government will be changed from council-supervisor to council administrator. If approved, the elected supervisor will be replaced with a council chairman who will be elected countywide and an administrator hired by county council to handle the day-to-day operations of county government.

Other Races

There will be a number of other races on the ballot, but not in all precincts. These races and the candidates running in them include:

Union County Council

District 2

Petition — Frank Hart

Petition — Curtiss Hunter

Petition — Clay Palmer

Petition — Ralph Tucker

District 3

Petition — Ronda Adams-Palmer

Petition — Chrystal Coffer

Democratic — Tommy Ford

District 5

Democratic — Randall “Chump” Hanvey

District 6

Petition — Ray Treadway

Democratic — Kacie Petrie

State Senate

District 13

Republican — Shane Martin

District 14

Republican — Harvey Peeler

District 18

Republican — Ronnie Cromer

School Board

District 1 — BJ McMorris and Ann Steven.

District 2 — Trustee Jantzen Childers

District 6 — Kakie White and Terry Ransom-Renna.

District 7 — Manning Jeter

Municipal Elections

City of Union

Mayor — Harold Thompson, Torance Inman and Mike Stevens

City Council District 3 — Keith Henderson

City Council District 4 — Ricky Harris and Kevin Montgomery.

City Council District 6 — Jim Wilson and Sonja Craig

Carlisle

Mayor — Mary Ferguson-Glenn

Two Council (two seats) — Ronnie “Motorcar” Lyles

Fire Boards

Jonesville Fire District Board of Trustees (two seats) — James Harvey Jr. and John Vaughan

Monarch Fire District Board of Trustees (three seats) — Donald “Snake” Robinson, Larry Robinson and Brad Jolly

Santuc Fire District Board of Trustees (three seats) — Albert Gregory, Eddie Hines and Nancy Richardson

Brown’s Creek Watershed

Brown’s Creek Watershed (three seats) Twig Adams, C.W. Garner and Wayne Springs

For more information about registering to vote, voting absentee and other election-related matters, contact the Union County Voter Registrar’s Office at (864) 429-1616.

Editor Charles Warner can be reached at 864-427-1234, ext. 14, or by email at cwarner@heartlandpublications.com.