Lazarus asks election board to delay certifying runoff results

The Horry County Election Commission on Thursday morning certified Tuesday’s runoff vote for Horry County Council chairman between incumbent Johnny Gardner and former chairman Mark Lazarus.

Republican primary election results were also certified for the Horry County school board chair, won by David Cox; the Horry County Council District 8, won by Michael Masciarelli; and the S.C. House seat 106, won by Val Guest. 

Prior to the certification, Lazarus appealed to the commissioners to delay the certification because there were hundreds of ballots that the commission would not open.

A glitch at a printing company caused nearly 1,400 Democratic ballots to be mailed to Republican voters. The company sent replacement ballots out when the mistake was discovered but they weren’t received before Saturday, three days before the election.

County voter registration director Sandy Martin said 183 ballots were received Wednesday in the mail and 25 more on Thursday. Since the ballots came in after 7 p.m. on election day, Martin said state law mandates that they not be opened and counted.

Speaking before the election commission Thursday morning, Lazarus reminded the commissioners that a sign in the front lobby of the voter registration office says “Every vote matters; every vote counts.”

He said he understood the state law deadline but since it was a mistake made by the printer and not the voters’ fault, the commission should delay the certification of the election until all ballots are counted and the voter registration office cross-references who received the wrong ballots with those who actually voted in person on Tuesday.

“The election commission has failed to uphold the integrity of the election process,” Lazarus said. “I don’t know if it will change the outcome of the election or not. Don’t leave a black cloud over this election.”

Commission chairman Larry Leagans told Lazarus because of the state law, “our hands are tied.”

Lazarus said there are 400-500 ballots left unaccounted for somewhere.

After counting the absentee ballots Thursday morning, the official vote count was Gardner 11,361 to Lazarus’ 11,101, a difference of 260 votes.

Lazarus said he will take some time to consider any future actions regarding the election.

“The appeals process can be long and drawn out,” he said. “I would first have to appeal to the local Republican party, then the state party then to a judge.”

Cox, Masciarelli and Gardner face no Democratic opposition in November’s general election, which means they are all in line to secure their respective seats. Guest will face Democrat Ryan Thompson in November.