71 people have voted early so far in Polk’s 3 towns

COLUMBUS—Polk County residents have until the end of this week to cast their vote early for this year’s municipal election. 

As of Monday morning, a total of 71 Polk County residents had cast their votes early. 

Early voting ends Friday at 5 p.m. Early voting began Oct. 16 and can only be done at the Polk County Board of Elections Office, located on the second floor of the Womack building in Columbus. 

Polls will be open on Election Day, next Tuesday, Nov. 5, from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 

Columbus registered voters can vote at Columbus Town Hall next Tuesday, Saluda registered voters can vote at the Saluda Fire Department and Tryon registered voters can vote at the Harmon Field Cabin. 

As of Monday morning, 30 people had cast their votes in Columbus. There are a total of 680 registered voters in the Town of Columbus, which represents 4.4 percent voter turnout so far. 

In Saluda, 7 people had cast their ballots. There are 497 registered voters in the City of Saluda, which represents a 1.4 percent voter turnout. 

In Tryon, 34 registered voters had cast their votes as of Monday morning. There are 1,439 registered voters in the Town of Tryon, which represents a 2.3 percent voter turnout. 

Early voting can be done from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. through this Friday, Nov. 1. 

Columbus will have the biggest race for council this year, with three open seats and six people filing. Current Columbus Mayor Eric McIntyre did not file for re-election, with Patrick McCool filing and running unopposed. 

Along with McCool filing for mayor, incumbent council members Richard Hall, Margaret Metcalf and Mark Phillips also filed. Ernie Kan, Brent Jackson and Steve E. Christopher filed to challenge the incumbents for the three open council seats. 

Saluda will also have a race for two open council seats. Saluda had three people file for the seats. Incumbent commissioners Stanley Walker and Leon Morgan both filed to retain their seats, along with challenger Robert “Bob” Ross. 

Tryon will not have a race for either mayor or two open council seats. The incumbents were the only ones to file. Incumbent mayor Alan Peoples filed to retain his seat along with incumbent commissioners Cry Armbrust and Chrelle Booker filing to retain their seats. 

There will be slots for the municipal election for write-in candidates. As long as the write-in candidate is a registered voter in the jurisdiction, the vote will count. The municipal write-in law is different from county and state elections, where the write-in candidate must be a qualified candidate by a petition. 

Landrum’s municipal election will also be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5, but there is no early voting. 

Saluda has a special referendum on the ballot this year regarding alcohol sales. 

The referendum will ask Saluda voters if they are for or against permitting the sale of mixed beverages in hotels, restaurants, private clubs, community theatres and convention centers.