Votes trickling in for Beaufort mayoral hopefuls. Here’s the special election details

Karl Puckett
·2 min read
Phil Cromer, left, and Mike Sutton answered questions at a forum Monday at the USCB Performing Arts Center. Cromer and Sutton are running in a special election for Beaufort mayor.

Votes are trickling in for Mike Sutton and Phil Cromer, the two candidates in the non-partisan special election that will decide who serves as Beaufort’s mayor for the next year.

The winner between Cromer and Sutton will serve until December 2024. That’s when former Mayor Stephen Murray’s term expires. Murray resigned in September.

Kristina Weitz, manager of Beaufort County’s Voter Registration and Elections Office, estimated that about 200 people had voted as of Wednesday morning.

Early voting, which began Monday, continues through 5 p.m. Friday at the Board of Voter Registration and Elections Office at 15 John Galt Road. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Residents can also vote Tuesday, which is election day, at five polling locations covering 13 precincts across the city. Some of the usual polling locations have changed for this special election.

Here’s where to vote:

▪ Precincts Beaufort 1, Beaufort 2 and Beaufort 3: Charles L. Brown Activity Center, 1001 Hamar St.

▪ Burton 2C: Love House Ministries, 423 Parris Island Gateway.

▪ Mossy Oaks 1A, Mossy Oaks 1B and Mossy Oaks 2, Beaufort Middle School Gymnasium, 2501 Mossy Oaks Road.

▪ Burton 3, Seabrook 1, Seabrook 3 and Sheldon 1: Beaufort County Public Works, 120 Shanklin Road.

▪ Lady’s Island 1A, Lady’s Island 1B and Lady’s Island 3B: Lady’s Island Elementary School gymnasium, 73 Chowan Creek Bluff Road.

Only voters living in the parts of precincts Beaufort 1, Burton 3, Seabrook 1, Seabrook 3, Sheldon 1, Lady’s Island 1A, Lady’s Island 1B, Lady’s Island 3B and Burton 2C that are located within the city limits are eligible to vote in the mayoral election (parts of those precincts are in unincorporated areas). Check your polling location or get a sample ballot at the South Carolina Elections Commission at https://scvotes.gov/event/city-of-beaufort-special-election/.

For more information contact the Beaufort County’s Voter Registration and Elections Office 843-255-6900.