McCormick CountyDemocratic PARTY
Z00M 3-2-2021
Z00M 3-2-2021
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Minutes
Meeting called to order by Chairman Alonzo Harrison at 5:30 pm
Invocation given by Chairman Harrison
Minutes of February 2, 2021
Motion to accept: Alonzo Harrison
Second: Bob Stockton
DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S REPORT by Paula Goldman
1) Snack items requested by McCormick County Schools of Inquiry and Innovation
delivered to the high school by Paula.
2) Delivered folders created and assembled by JoAnn Ritchie and Paula Goldman to the high school having secured permission from the superintendent. The folders will be presented to 18 year old students on their birthday when they become eligible to vote. The folders include voter registration application, where to register, how to use voting machine, sources on line for information on how to vote, copy of the US Constitution.
Paula read the thank you letter from the High School faculty.
3) Declared the women Democrats are ready to help with the Fish Fry.
4) Encouraged the party to pursue a course of identifying candidates for offices and offering aid and encouragement to those candidates.
TRAV ROBERTSON, SCDP CHAIR, ADDRESSES THE PARTY MEMBERS
Moving the party forward is Robertson’s theme. His objective is to have a representative of the Democratic party in every county in SC.
RECRUIT CANDIDATES
• Monitoring legislative sessions
• Voter registration — started program to emulate what Stacy Abrams accomplished in GA. Decades long campaign to fund voter registration drives. Billion spent from 1/3/2020 to 1/5/2020. Prior to Jaime Harrison’s campaign 2010 was the only competitive race in SC.
GOAL
to have a precinct president in every precinct. Good opportunity for offices of Governor and US Senate seat in 2020.
VOTER REGISTRATION
2018 Abrams invested in SC voting.
McCormick County’s 11 precinct voting record in 2018 election:
Meeting called to order by Chairman Alonzo Harrison at 5:30 pm
Invocation given by Chairman Harrison
Minutes of February 2, 2021
Motion to accept: Alonzo Harrison
Second: Bob Stockton
DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S REPORT by Paula Goldman
1) Snack items requested by McCormick County Schools of Inquiry and Innovation
delivered to the high school by Paula.
2) Delivered folders created and assembled by JoAnn Ritchie and Paula Goldman to the high school having secured permission from the superintendent. The folders will be presented to 18 year old students on their birthday when they become eligible to vote. The folders include voter registration application, where to register, how to use voting machine, sources on line for information on how to vote, copy of the US Constitution.
Paula read the thank you letter from the High School faculty.
3) Declared the women Democrats are ready to help with the Fish Fry.
4) Encouraged the party to pursue a course of identifying candidates for offices and offering aid and encouragement to those candidates.
TRAV ROBERTSON, SCDP CHAIR, ADDRESSES THE PARTY MEMBERS
Moving the party forward is Robertson’s theme. His objective is to have a representative of the Democratic party in every county in SC.
RECRUIT CANDIDATES
• Monitoring legislative sessions
• Voter registration — started program to emulate what Stacy Abrams accomplished in GA. Decades long campaign to fund voter registration drives. Billion spent from 1/3/2020 to 1/5/2020. Prior to Jaime Harrison’s campaign 2010 was the only competitive race in SC.
GOAL
to have a precinct president in every precinct. Good opportunity for offices of Governor and US Senate seat in 2020.
VOTER REGISTRATION
2018 Abrams invested in SC voting.
McCormick County’s 11 precinct voting record in 2018 election:
1 Mt Carmel — 39 votes 6 Monticello — 27
2 Willington — 25 7 Bethany — 40
3 McCormick 1 — 93 8 Plum Branch — 84
4 McCormick 2 — 65 9 Parksville — 6
5 Savannah — 69 10 Modoc — 6
11 Clarks Hill — 25
SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION
Use VoteBuilder lists to Identify possible precinct presidents
Bring names to executive committee to fill precinct slots
List of names stored in Voter File (Trav will email how to pull out voter names from the
voter files.)
Precincts are set up by law
ROLE OF PRECINCT PRESIDENT
Role for the last 10 years: responsible for making sure polls manned by Poll Watchers on election day.
(Poll Manager and Poll Workers are hired by the state and paid for their work.)
Liaison between precinct and party structure
Executive committees made up of precinct captains. (Eyes and ears of political party in
days gone by).
Check SCDP website for rules that govern the party
FOR PRECINCT INFORMATION, CHECK WEBSITE UNDER GETTING INVOLVED.
Currently in the US, there are 6 generations alive simultaneously (first time in history). Imagine the challenges of informing such a disparate group of people.
CHAIRMAN HARRISON ON THE HISTORY OF OUR 11 PRECINCTS
Over the years, precinct presidents have died and no replacements stepped in to take
their places.Meanwhile in SLV, younger folks (in their 60s) replacing the 80 yr. olds.)
Challenge to make the job attractive.
SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION
Capitalize on anti-Trump crowd
Contact voters identified in 2020 Democratic primary. These folks will be motivated and willing to fight to prevent Trump's return to power.
FIELD REPS
Put together committee to reach out to folks. Perhaps we can pay young people in the same way the candidates’ field reps were paid during the last campaign.
GOOD NEWS
• SC Democrats increased their share of general election votes by 4 to 6,000 votes
• In our presidential primary. We reported our results accurately and on time.
• We now own our own building in Columbia.
HOWEVER
Governor has power to appoint majority of appointees on Election Commission.
SC has “open carry” laws and is destructive on women’s abortion rights
Redistricting due to census results is challenging in SC.
Democrats suing to clarify.
CURRENT SITUATION IN McCORMICK
1) Clarissa Parks (Democratic appointee to replace retired Virginia Edmunds as Auditor) will definitely have opposition. She is an at-large candidate and will require a plurality of votes from the entire county.
2) Republicans favoring the power to dissolve school boards in underperforming districts
3) Replacement of officeholders challenges the status quo. SLV growing. These are voters. Their vote can make a difference in the current balance of 3 black-controlled county districts and 2 white-controlled.
Expect an increase in SC house seats as result of 2020 census. Anne Parks’ situation may be diluted by having her district cut in two or otherwise reduced in size.
FISH FRY
Chairman Harrison volunteered to chair the Fish Fry committee. Trav offered to pay for the fish.
ELECTED OFFICIALS IN ATTENDANCE
Henry Banks, District 1 County Council
Clarissa Parks, Auditor
Meeting adjourned 6:40.
Respectfully submitted,
Joan Stockton, Secretary
