SANTEE – The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating absentee ballots allegations following an April 8 nonpartisan municipal election in this eastern Orangeburg County town.
Sheryl Patrick, one of two Santee Town Council incumbents who withstood challenges during the election, said she witnessed “irregularities” on top of having received numerous reports from individuals alleging voter fraud. She said the issue has become impossible to ignore.
“It caused me great concern. I understood that these were very serious allegations. I believed from what I was seeing personally that it was possible that the people in my area were being robbed of their right to vote,” Patrick said.
“There is an open and active investigation,” SLED public information officer Jennifer Timmons said.
Patrick’s request for an investigation came only a couple of months before District 66 Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter requested a SLED probe into the June 10 Democratic primary in which she defeated a political newcomer.
Cobb-Hunter said she received numerous reports from her constituents regarding allegations of absentee ballot irregularities.
“I’m in agreement with it (the probe). I was running for re-election along with John Mark Gilmore. I actually said to him back in March before the election -- when we were getting numerous reports of voter fraud -- that when this election was over and I put together a report, I was going to be asking for the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate everything that we had heard along the campaign trail,” Patrick said.
Patrick said the issue is not about who won or lost the election.
“It’s about protecting the integrity of the system and people’s civil rights. That’s a privilege that we enjoy in America that people in other countries can only dream of. I would still have pursued this regardless of the outcome. I understand that this has been a problem for a lot of years,” said Patrick, who said the April 8 election was the first time in her 12-year career on council that she had been challenged.
“So, it’s the first election for me that I saw what it’s like on the campaign trail. When I see a wrong, I try to correct it. Certainly, when I see people’s rights being taken from them, I feel like I need to step in to protect the people for future elections,” said Patrick, who declined further comment on specific irregularities.
“Someone once said: ‘The only ingredient needed for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.’ I’ve always been a champion for the underdog. As an elected official, I took an oath as all elected officials do. Within that oath, we swear that we will uphold the Constitution of the United States and the state of South Carolina. Being bound by an oath of office that I have taken now four times, I’m not going to stand by and watch someone rob someone else’s civil rights,” Patrick said.
She said she solicited the help of SLED because she figured the issue needed to be looked into further.
“There were 88 absentee ballots in the April 8 election, and I was hearing numerous reports of fraud. So I asked for help because I felt that these were very serious things that needed to be looked into ... to find out if these allegations had any substance to them. I do think we need to take a cursory look at it (absentee ballot requirements) and tweak and tighten it up a bit,” Patrick said.
Cobb-Hunter has said that she has had conversations with legislative counsel and is reviewing election law to see if there is anything that can be done to “tweak the process,” not just for absentee ballot requirements, but the entire filing requirement.
Patrick said she realizes that absentee ballots are essential in the voting process, particularly for military service people serving abroad and those who are ill or out of town. She said the process of absentee voting, however, will probably never be fraud-proof, even with more fine-tuned procedures.
“If a person is intent on doing something fraudulent, I’m afraid they’re going to do it anyway, regardless of how strict or how closely a policy is being guarded. There are people that, regardless of the law, are going to find a way to circumvent the process,” Patrick said.
T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.