Dec. 14--Horry County deputies have found and recovered voting machines from Atlantic Beach that the town had not returned to Horry County since the town's election in November.
Capt. Steve Parker from the Horry County Sheriff's office said Tuesday that deputies were sent to the town to execute a claim and delivery order for the machines, which belong to the county.
Parker said town officials would not tell deputies where the machines were located. After about four hours passed, and a locksmith was called to the location, the town's police chief came and granted access to an area in town hall where the machines were kept, according to Parker. He said the locksmith was not needed.
Before the machines were found, the town's Mayor Retha Pierce, said the town was not going to let the voting machines go, calling them evidence that votes were not recorded properly during the election. She said the town wanted to keep the evidence.
Pierce was defeated in the Nov. 1 municipal election, but after a protest hearing later that month the town's election commission tossed out the results and ordered that a new election be held in six months. Meanwhile, the commission said, the town's current leadership should stay in place. No specific date has been released for a new election.
Contact Adva Saldinger at 626-0317.
Copyright 2011 - The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C.
