By Shellie Murdaugh
The Island News
Jasper County voters had begun casting their ballots early Tuesday morning and had some advice for those who had not yet voted.
Catherine Reed, 94, had her son bring her to the polls. He assisted her as she used her walker to enter the polling area and cast her ballot.
Reed cast her ballot at the Coosawhatchie precinct in Jasper County.
Reed, a Point South native, said voting “went good.”
“It felt good and I was anxious to get out here and vote,” she said.
Reed said she had voted in many elections and had some advice for those who had not yet voted.
“They need to get their butts out and vote,” she said.
John DeCosta, a Ridgeland native, returned home later in his life and cast his ballot Tuesday morning at the same precinct.
“I’ve seen there are some changes that need to be made,” he said after he cast his ballot. “It seems like some are dragging their feet on certain issues and my vote counts.”
DeCosta, in his sixties, said the voting process was simple.
“I recommend it for everyone,” he said. “I plan to vote every chance I get.”
When asked about his advice to the younger generation about voting, DeCosta said everyone should vote because their vote counts.
“This is where growing up starts,” he said.
A few early results
Early numbers from a couple of Jasper County precincts revealed voters showed up during the first hour or so at the polls before more began to cast their ballots around noon.
The Coosawhatchie precinct, located at Coosawhatchie Baptist Church, had 45 voters as of 10:38 a.m. before more voters began to arrive around 11:15a.m. The precinct also had a few curbside voters during that time.
Poll workers at the Coosawhatchie precinct said the voting had been steady throughout the morning.
The Ridgeland 1 and 2 precincts, located at Kingdom Touch Ministries Gymnasium in Ridgeland, had seen 273 voters as of 11:58 a.m. with several voters in the process of casting their ballots.
More election results will be posted after the polls close at 7p.m.
Shellie Murdaugh, who joined The Island News in October 2026, formerly worked as a reporter for The Jasper County Sun Times and Bluffton Today. She also worked for newspapers in Hampton and Colleton counties in South Carolina and in North Carolina at The Richmond County Daily Journal. She can be reached at shelliemurdaugh@gmail.com.