<h3>By Sally Mahan</h3>
When Michael Rivers was elected in November to the South Carolina House of Representatives, his seat on the Beaufort County School District board of education was left open.

Now, a special election will be held on Tuesday, March 28, to fill the District 3 seat, which covers portions of Beaufort, Lady’s Island and St. Helena Island.&nbsp;

Only voters in that district can vote in this election. Check your voter registration card to see ifit's your district, or call the Board of Voter Registration and Elections of Beaufort County at 843-255-6900.

The Beaufort elections office, at 15 John Galt Road in Beaufort, will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday through Monday, March 27, for in-person absentee voting.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Voters are required to present one of the following forms of current and valid photo identification at the polls: an SC driver’s license, SC Department of Motor Vehicles identification card, SC voter registration card with photo, U.S. passport or federal military identification with a photo.

There are four candidates running for the seat: Cynthia Smalls, William Smith, Buryl Garnett Sumpter and Fred Washington (see page A7 for their platforms).

An interesting note to this election is that CARE (Citizens Advocating Responsible Education) has decided not to endorse any of the candidates.

According to CARE co-founders Richard Bisi and Rebecca Bass, “Each of the candidates has unique experience to bring to the board, but we continue to seek candidates who will truly represent change and not the status quo. For that reason, we have chosen not to endorse any of these candidates.”

All school board members are non-partisan. The 11 members serve for four years and meet twice a month. They earn $7,500 a year, with the board chair earning an additional $1,000.

For more information, visit bcgov.net and click on Board of Voter Registration and Elections on the right.