Three days after the South Carolina primary there was one little-reported result that could have a major implication on future selection of Republican presidential nominees: the rise in voters choosing to select their candidates through early voting rather than showing up at polls on primary day.
Two years after Republican Gov. Henry McMaster signed legislation permitting voting for two weeks before the primary, Palmetto State voters are clearly taking advantage of this new opportunity.
A whopping 19,656 turned out in Charleston County — more than 4,000 of which showed up on the last possible day to vote — Feb. 22, two days before the primary.
In Lexington, which includes the town of Irmo, more than 12,224 voters opted for early voting; 2,224 chose to vote on the last day of early voting.
Jacqueline Smith, election clerk for five precincts in Aiken, said that curbside voting, which is provided for people with disabilities or those over 65, was "very good."
In a speech in Columbia on the night before the primary, Donald Trump repeated his long-standing call for voting only on the day of the election and for all paper ballots.
But in a state Trump won convincingly, evidence is strong that some voters prefer another way of casting their ballots.
"Voters are getting more enthusiastic about early voting," Lexington County Director of Elections Lenice Shoemaker told Newsmax on the Friday before the primary.
"The new generation are clearly used to choices and convenience."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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