Hundreds turn out for the first day of early voting in Florence County

FLORENCE, S.C. (WPDE) — Nearly a dozen officers from the Florence County Sheriff's Office and the Florence Police Department direct traffic along Third Loop Road in front of the Florence County Voter Registration and Elections Office on Monday.

Julian Young, director of the Florence County Voter Registration and Elections Office, said nearly 700 people have voted so far Monday and that they expect more than 1,000 voters by the end of the day.

“It was stable. They were here at 6:30 this morning, people started coming. “There’s a line all the way to the Walmart on South Irby Street,” Young said.

Young said traffic can be quite congested at times.

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Some people, like Sue Shell and Christopher Nowlin, parked at the Florence County Public Services Building and walked across a field to vote.

“The cars were parked up to the red light. And I saw people coming through here. So I said, wait a minute. And I parked my car. And I got my little butt out. And I went. And I'm done. And they’re still dragging on,” Shell said.

“I started seeing people walking across the path. So I decided to park my car. And go along the same path. But once you get up there it doesn't take that long. Don't let traffic stop you from voting. This is a very critical time to vote,” Nowlin said.

Young said the process is pretty quick and easy once you get in line, but he asks for your patience.

He added that you can cast your vote before the election at the following additional polling stations:

• Mt. Zion AME Church 1305 E. Cheves Street, Florence.
• Olanta Public Library 210 E. Hampton Street, Olanta.