With the Nov. 3 general election approaching, the Clarendon County Board of Voter Registration and Elections continued preparations Monday by approving additional poll workers, while candidates and residents raised questions about staffing, polling locations and other election procedures.
The board unanimously approved 13 additional applicants to serve as poll managers or poll clerks during its Sept. 28 regularly scheduled meeting. Chairman Edward Gamble III said the board had previously approved about 118 workers.
The board also unanimously gave a majority of its officers temporary authority to approve additional poll managers and clerks before the next regular meeting. Gamble said the measure would allow applicants who come forward in time to complete training to be approved without waiting for the full board to meet.
Those appointments would still have to be ratified by the full board, and the temporary authority expires when the next regularly scheduled meeting is called to order.
The preparations come as the voter registration office continues operating without a permanent director. The board voted 7-1 Aug. 31 to terminate Robert Adams, who had led the office since February. The Manning Times reported on the termination last month.
The Sept. 28 meeting agenda lists the director position as vacant and Terrance S. Levy as training coordinator/clerk.
Questions about the office’s staffing and preparations for November were also raised during public comment.
Patricia Pringle, chair of the Clarendon County Democratic Party, presented the board with a three-page memo submitted by the county Democratic Party, concerned candidates on the November ballot and other electors. The group requested a meeting within 10 days with Gamble, members of Clarendon County’s legislative delegation and South Carolina Election Commission Executive Director Conway Belangia or his designee.
The memo cited recent personnel changes and requested information on staffing and training, polling-location changes, poll worker appointments, absentee ballots and voter assistance, among other issues.
One concern involves six polling locations the group says have been closed or combined for the November election. The memo asks for the reason for each change, the number of registered voters affected and how and when those voters were notified.
Polling-place changes have been a recurring topic for the board. In August, members unanimously approved consolidating Manning 1 and Manning 5 at the Clarendon Community Center gym. Both precincts were already voting in the same building, but previously operated with separate check-in areas.
The memo also seeks clarification about absentee ballots from the June 9 primary. The group said it understood that 95 absentee ballots, including two Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ballots, were returned, while official results reportedly showed only one ballot under the “Absentee by Mail” category. The group asked for an accounting of the ballots and an explanation of how the totals were reconciled with the official results.
Staffing was another concern. The memo said some voters seeking help with absentee ballot applications reported being told no qualified staff member was available and to call back later. The group requested information about current staffing, how many employees are certified to provide those services and what procedures are in place to ensure voters can receive assistance.
The memo also asks for clarification about Adams’ termination and that of his predecessor, Princess Lang; poll worker appointments and recusals by board members; the board’s vacant ninth seat; and the elimination of the former deputy director position and creation of the training coordinator/clerk position.
Adams’ termination was the second dismissal of an executive director in less than a year. Lang, who began work in August 2025, was terminated the following month. Adams began Feb. 16 and was terminated Aug. 31.
Pringle told the board the group was seeking clarification before the November election.
“Recent changes in election administration personnel have raised questions among candidates and electors about continuity, staffing, training, planning, transparency, and a secure and orderly administration of the election,” she read from the memo. Clarendon County Board of Voter…
The group requested written responses and available public records addressing its questions, as well as an opportunity for candidates and voters to ask follow-up questions about preparations for November.The board accepted the memo during public comment but did not publicly address the individual questions before moving on to new business.
