By Vicki Brown
Colleton County residents could soon be receiving a new headquarters for voting and elections.
During its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, Colleton County Council voted to put a contract on the former Rite Aid building, which is located at the corner of Bells Highway and Jefferies Boulevard in Walterboro. This building has been empty since Rite Aid stores began closing in South Carolina in 2017, as part of a massive company buyout by Walgreens.
If the county’s proposed real estate contract is approved, the former Rite Aid building will serve as a new location for the Colleton County Voter Registration and Elections Office. They currently lease an office at 2471 Jefferies Hwy and another office for the new voting equipment.
According to information provided by county Administrator Kevin Griffin, the new building would also house voting machines. Local officials say the goal is to have enough space to house personnel and all voting equipment and supplies in one location. As it stands now, voting equipment and supplies have to be stored at another office.
“We, also, need to have enough space to accommodate social distancing during in person absentee voting, to be ADA compliant and to ensure transparency when programming equipment and when receiving and posting results on election nights,” said Colleton County Voter Registration and Elections Office Director Angela Upchurch.
As a part of the contract approval process, county officials are working on a lease/purchase agreement with South State Bank.
The Colleton County Voter Registration and Elections Office is governed by a board and by Upchurch. As part of this office’s duties, it oversees all election processes in Colleton County, maintains department records, coordinates ballot and voting machine distribution and ensures the integrity of elections. The office is also responsible for all absentee voting processes in Colleton County and trains poll workers.
