Absentee voting underway for June primaries

Absentee voting for the South Carolina primary elections June 14 is underway at county election offices, including the Oconee office in the county administrative complex on S. Pine Street in Walhalla.  By yesterday 22 thousand absentee ballots had been issued across the state.  That compares with 25 thousand that were cast in the last comparable statewide primary in 2012.  Qualified voters may vote absentee in person or by mail.  The latest numbers on Oconee show that nearly 48,500 county residents are eligible to vote in the June 14 Republican primary. Female Oconee voters outnumber males 25,569 to 22,838.  Because of a lack of candidates, there will be no Democratic primary in Oconee.