Four Colleton towns to hold elections

By HEATHER RUPPE

Filing is open for candidates who want to run for elected seats for several different towns in Colleton County.
Four towns in Colleton County are each holding their own municipal elections on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd: The towns of Smoaks, Cottageville, Lodge and Edisto Beach.
Filing for candidates in each of these elections begins on noon on Monday, August 9th and runs through noon until Monday, August 23rd.

Smoaks
The Smoaks General Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd for electing two town council members. This is a non-partisan election, meaning there is no political affiliation on the ballot.
Filing for candidates opens at noon on Monday, August 9th and runs until noon on Monday, August 23rd. There is no filing fee. Anyone wanting to file for a seat should go to the Voter Registration and Elections Office, located at 2471 Jefferies Highway in Walterboro.
Election Day voting in Smoaks will be held at the Colleton County Fire-Rescue Station No. 7, located at 27250 Lowcountry Highway in Smoaks.
The poll opens at 7:00 a.m. and will remain open until 7:00 p.m.
Only people who live within the town limits of Smoaks can run for office.

Lodge
In Lodge, the town’s election for a mayor and two council members will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd. This is a non-partisan election.
Interested candidates should go to the county’s Voter Registration and Elections Office, located at 2471 Jefferies Highway in Walterboro.
Filing for candidates opens at noon on Monday, August 9th and run through noon on Monday, August. 23rd. There is a $15 filing fee for this election.
Election Day voting will be held at the Colleton County Fire-Rescue Station No. 3, located at 8667 Lodge Highway in Lodge. The poll opens at 7:00 a.m. at this location on election day and will remain open until 7:00 p.m.

Edisto Beach
The Town of Edisto Beach will hold its election on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd to elect two new council members. Each council member will serve a four-year term.
This election will also be for a mayor to finish two years on a current four-year term: current Mayor Jane Darby resigned from her post on August 5th. (See related story in this issue).
Candidates in the Edisto Beach election are nominated by petition. Each council candidate wanting to run for a council seat must complete a petition: a petition must contain the signature of at least five percent of the qualified registered voters in the town.
Information on the mayoral special election is not yet available, as of press deadline.
Filing for Edisto Beach Town Council candidates opened on August 2nd. The petition must be filed with the Town Clerk by noon on August 19th. Petition forms may be acquired from Town Hall or online at scvotes.gov. 
Also, candidates must file Statement of Economic Interest forms, which are also found online at www.ethics.sc.gov. The Edisto election will happen at Edisto Beach Town Hall, located at 2414 Murray Street at Edisto Beach. The polls will be opened at 7:00 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m. This is a non-partisan election and no party affiliation shall be placed on the ballot.

Cottageville
The non-partisan Cottageville municipal election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd and is for the election of two council members: one council member has a term ending in 2025 and the other is for an unexpired term that ends in 2023.
Anyone desiring to be a candidate for Cottageville Town Council may file at the Cottageville Town Hall, located at 72 Salley Ackerman Drive in Cottageville.
Filing opens at noon Monday, August 9, 2021 until noon Monday, August 23, 2021.
There is a $50 filing fee for the Cottageville election.
Election Day voting will be held at the Cottageville Elementary School, located at 648 Peirce Road in Cottageville. The poll opens at 7:00 a.m. on election day and will remain open until 7:00 p.m.

Any run-off elections for these municipalities will be held two weeks after the election on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.

Candidate Information
Candidates wanting to run in any of these municipal elections should begin filing their required state forms. These forms are required, in addition to any filing fees that might be required by the individual municipalities.
To obtain the ‘Nonpartisan Statement of Intention of Candidacy’ form, candidates should go to www.scVotes.gov/candidate_information then select ‘Filing for Municipal or other Nonpartisan Offices’. Copies of this form are also at the county’s voter registration office.
All candidates must also file the ‘Statement of Economic Interest’ and ‘Campaign Disclosure’ forms with the State Ethics Commission. These forms must be completed online at www.ethics.sc.gov.

Registering to Vote
Any resident who wants to vote in an upcoming election and who is not yet registered to vote can do so now. The voter registration deadline for these elections Oct. 3rd.
To register, visit the Voter Registration & Elections Office at 2471 Jefferies Hwy, Walterboro, SC 29488 or register online at www.scVotes.gov.
Voter registration by mail applications will be accepted if postmarked by Monday, October 4.
Absentee ballots may be requested now from the Colleton County Voter Registration and Elections Office by calling 843-549-2842. Anyone wanting to cast their absentee ballot in person can do this beginning Monday, Oct. 4th by going to local Voter Registration & Elections Office, which is located at 2471 Jefferies Highway in Walterboro. Absentee ballots done in person will continue from October 4 until 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election.
The elections office is open Monday-Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.