South Carolina 2012 election: amendment, full ballot, talk of early voting

Flickr User: Madison Guy

Besides deciding who the leader of the free world will be and who will be the first person to represent District 7, this election will have one Amendment that all South Carolinians will vote on.

The amendment question has to do with weather or not we will continue to elect Governors and Lieutenant Governors separately or have gubernatorial pick a running mate starting in 2018. 

In recent years South Carolina Governors and Lt. Governors have not seen eye to eye. The Sun News has a write-up on the recent history of this here

The official ballot text reads as follows:

Amendment 1

Beginning with the general election of 2018, must Section 8 of Article IV of the Constitution of this State be amended to provide that the Lieutenant Governor must be elected jointly with the Governor in a manner prescribed by law; and upon the joint election to add Section 37 to Article III of the Constitution of this State to provide that the Senate shall elect from among the members thereof a President to preside over the Senate and to perform other duties as provided by law; to delete Sections 9 and 10 of Article IV of the Constitution of this State containing inconsistent provisions providing that the Lieutenant Governor is President of the Senate, ex officio, and while presiding in the Senate, has no vote, unless the Senate is equally divided; to amend Section 11 to provide that the Governor shall fill a vacancy in the Office of Lieutenant Governor by appointing a successor with the advice and consent of the Senate; and to amend Section 12 of Article IV of the Constitution of this State to conform appropriate references?

If one votes "Yes" for the amendment this means that they are for the Governor and Lieutenant Governor to run on the same ticket, if you vote "No" then you wish to keep it the way it has been. 

Additionally, talk has started in letting South Carolina joining 32 other states that allow early voting. South Carolina is one of 18 states that does not allow early voting, besides absentee ballots. However with nearly 350,000 absentee ballots cast in 2008, it seems that there might be a lot of folks who either are lying to vote early or almost 10% of the state goes on vacation during November. Check out The Sun News' write-up about the push for early voting here

Below you'll find the complete ballot (so far) or all the names running for office in Horry County and Nationally. Scroll all the way down for a map of all the polling places in Horry County and if you're not sure where you should vote head on over here

Care to know who TheDigitel endorses in all of the races? Click here

Office Party Candidate Name
President and Vice President REP Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan
President and Vice President LIB Gary Johnson / James P Gray
President and Vice President DEM Barack Obama / Joe Biden
President and Vice President CON Virgil Goode / Jim Clymer
President and Vice President GRN Jill Stein / Cheri Honkala
U.S. House of Representatives District 7 REP Tom Rice
U.S. House of Representatives District 7 DEM Gloria Bromell Tinubuá
State Senate District 28 REP Greg Hembree
State Senate District 28 DEM Butch Johnson
State Senate District 30 DEM Kent Williams
State Senate District 32 DEM John Yancey McGill
State Senate District 33 REP Luke A Rankin
State Senate District 34 REP Raymond Cleary
State House of Representatives District 55 DEM Jackie Hayes
State House of Representatives District 56 PET Dennis DiSabato
State House of Representatives District 56 PET Mike Ryhal
State House of Representatives District 57 REP Eric Fry
State House of Representatives District 57 DEM J Wayne George
State House of Representatives District 58 REP Liston D Barfield
State House of Representatives District 68 REP Heather Ammons Crawford
State House of Representatives District 103 PET Tom Winslow
State House of Representatives District 103 DEM Carl L Anderson
State House of Representatives District 104 REP Tracy R Edge
State House of Representatives District 104 DEM Charles Randall
State House of Representatives District 105 PET Mike Connett
State House of Representatives District 105 PET Kevin Hardee
State House of Representatives District 105 PET Blake Hewitt
State House of Representatives District 105 PET Bert von Herrmann
State House of Representatives District 105 PET Bill Wiegand
State House of Representatives District 106 REP Nelson Hardwick
State House of Representatives District 107 REP Alan Clemmons
Sheriff REP Phillip E Thompson
Clerk of Court REP Melanie Huggins-Ward
Coroner REP Robert L Edge Jr
Auditor REP Lois Eargle
County Treasurer REP Roddy Dickinson
County Council District 3 DEM Marion Foxworth
County Council District 4 REP Gary Loftus
County Council District 6 REP Bob Grabowski
County Council District 6 PET Marvin Heyd
County Council District 9 REP Paul Prince
County Council District 9 PET Patrick Boulter
County Council District 10 REP Jody Prince
County Council District 10 DEM Kenneth Robinson
Board of Education Chairman REP Joe Defeo
Board of Education District 4 REP Kay Loftus
Board of Education District 5 REP Janice Morreale
Board of Education District 8 REP John Poston
Board of Education District 9 REP David E Cox
Board of Education District 9 DEM Ronald Bessant
Board of Education District 11 PET Jeffrey L Garland
Board of Education District 11 PET Levon Martin
Soil and Water Commission NON Shane Willoughby
Buck Creek Watershed Commissioners District 8 NON Lyles Thomas Bellamy
Buck Creek Watershed Commissioners District 8 NON Sammy Holmes
Buck Creek Watershed Commissioners District 8 NON Alan L Little
Crabtree Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 11 NON Hunter Jenkins
Crabtree Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 11 NON George H Jenkins Jr
Crabtree Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 11 NON Ray Reece
Gapway Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 14 NON Durham H Anderson
Gapway Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 14 NON Hoyt Graham Jr
Gapway Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 14 NON Tommy Thompson
Simpson Creek Watershed Commissioners District 28 NON Charles L Cooke Sr
Simpson Creek Watershed Commissioners District 28 NON Roger B Cox
Simpson Creek Watershed Commissioners District 28 NON Jeff Todd
Todd Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 34 NON Mark A Branton
Todd Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 34 NON John F Clardy
Todd Swamp Watershed Commissioners District 34 NON Barry D Todd

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