South Carolina Voters Cast Ballots in Record Numbers

Voters told us they waited up to four hours to cast ballots at Boiling Springs High School.

By: Fred Cunningham | WSPA-TV
Published: November 05, 2008

Now we know some of the reason behind long lines to vote in South Carolina on Election Day.

More than seven out of 10 registered voters in South Carolina cast ballots in Tuesday's election, smashing the record set four years ago.

Unofficial numbers from the South Carolina Election Commission website show 70.89% of registered voters turned out for the race between Barack Obama and John McCain.

In 2004, 63.2% of registered voters in South Carolina turned out for the general election.

Election Commission numbers - which show five counties in the Midlands and Lowcountry still being counted out of 46 in the state Wednesday morning - shows McCormick County had the highest turnout with 82.45% of voters participating.

In the Upstate, Union County led the way with 81.90% turning out to vote. Here are turnout rates from other counties in the area:

Abbeville - 80.48%
Anderson - 74.97%
Cherokee - 74.15%
Greenville - 76.42%
Greenwood - 79.88%
Laurens - 75.45%
Oconee - 76.45%
Pickens - 64.17%
Spartanburg - 72.71%
Union - 81.90%

South Carolina's eight electoral votes went to John McCain over Barack Obama. Here's how the voting went in the presidential race from three counties in the Upstate:

Greenville: McCain-Palin 115,822 (61%) Obama-Biden 70,618 (37%)
Spartanburg: McCain-Palin 63,385 (59%) Obama-Biden 40,855 (38%)
Anderson: McCain-Palin 48,389 (66%) Obama-Biden 23,807 (32%)

The North Carolina State Board of Elections reports 68.37% of registered voters cast ballots Tuesday according to their website. That's about seven percent higher than the results posted in 2004.

Here are some turnout rates from western North Carolina:

Buncombe - 70.95%
Henderson - 67.65%
Polk - 71.33%
Rutherford - 67.77%
Transylvania - 72.84%

Learn more about the election results from the South Carolina Election Commission by clicking here

Learn more about the election results from the North Carolina State Board of elections by clicking here