Early Voting Underway

As the long 2016 election campaign is winding down, voting has already begun. The early voting station at Seacoast Church, 2049 Savannah Hwy is open Mon. through Fri. from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. It will also be open Sat., Oct. 29 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. The Seacoast voting station will close Fri., Nov. 4.
The eligibility requirements for early voting are listed at SCVotes.org. There are 16 reasons allowing early voting, including being 65 or older, work schedule, plans to be out of town, and physical disabilities. With high voter turnout anticipated, early voting will help reduce lines on the Tues., Nov. 8 election day.
There are many reasons why people should vote in 2016. In addition to electing a new President, we have county-wide races for Treasurer and Auditor, three competitive races for the State House of Representatives involving West Ashley voters and a referendum to increase our sales tax from 8.5% to 9.0% for road projects, more mass transit buses and undefined “greenspace” purchases.
The seemingly endless Presidential campaign experienced the final nationally televised debate Wed., Oct. 19. The Charleston County Republican Party had a lively debate watch party on the USS Yorktown with several hundred people watching on the big screen in the ship’s theater.
Moderator Chris Wallace from Fox News focused more on the critical issues than those in the previous two Presidential debates. It gave voters a good opportunity to see the contrasts between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.
On the issue of abortion, Trump expressed a solid pro-life position. Clinton described abortion as a constitutional right and even justified performing it in the third trimester of pregnancy, during which a fetus may survive in the event of the mother’s death during childbirth. Clinton also affirmed her support for abortion provider Planned Parenthood.
The candidates have a wide gulf on the issue of immigration. Clinton wants to provide a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million who entered our country illegally. Trump wants to secure our border with Mexico rapidly and enforce existing immigration laws. He also wants to speed up the legal immigration process, which currently can take more than a decade and cost prospective immigrants tens of thousands of dollars. Wallace brought up a statement Clinton made in Brazil about wanting open borders for citizens in North America and South America.
There were several questions about America’s role in the world. Clinton accused Trump of wanting to disband America’s allies. Trump responded that our allies need to do more to provide for their own defense. He said, “We’re spending a fortune defending other countries.” He singled out Germany, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia as wealthy countries which should spend more money on defense.
On economic issues, the contrasts were very sharp. Trump supports lowering tax rates across-the-board on individuals and lowering the income tax rate on businesses to 15%. Clinton wants to raise taxes on wealthy individuals and corporations, claiming that they are not currently paying their “fair share” of taxes.
ISIS was a major foreign policy issue discussed. Hillary contended that the Obama Administration policies have kept ISIS in check. Trump noted that Obama Administration policies led to the formation of ISIS and that the terrorist group now has a presence in 32 countries.
Wallace asked Clinton about the influence of the Clinton Foundation on her foreign policy, addressing contributions it received from foreign countries, including Saudi Arabia. Clinton quickly pivoted and proclaimed that the foundation spends 90% of its contributions on charitable causes. An investigation by The Daily Caller news service shows that the Clinton Foundation spent $91.3 million in 2014 and spent only $5.2 million on charitable causes, citing IRS records.
Voters certainly have plenty of information to base their voting decision on in 2016. I hope those who are eligible vote early to alleviate long lines at the polls on election day and that we have a record-high voter turnout.
Please state below the column that I am the editor-in-chief of LowcountrySource.com and that my e-mail address is John@LowcountrySource.com.