Eight candidates remained on the ballot for four Lancaster County School District board seats after filing closed at noon Monday, and one of the four seats will change hands without a contest.
District 5 drew a single candidate, Rick Crimminger. The seat belongs to Vice Chairman Casey Cato, who did not file for reelection. Crimminger has not served on the board.
Board Chairman Melvin Stroble drew a challenger in District 7. Bryan Vaughn filed against him.
District 1 has the largest field. Incumbent Eddie Boykin filed for reelection and faces Kristen Setzer and Melanie Vaughn.
In District 3, incumbent Courtney Crump Green faces Annette G. Melton. A third candidate, Jonathan Phipps, filed earlier in the two week window and later withdrew. His status appears on the state candidate list as withdrawn.
How the Board Is Structured
The Lancaster County School District board has seven members, each elected from a single member district rather than at large. Voters cast a ballot only in the district where they live.
Trustees serve terms of four years on a staggered schedule. Districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 are elected in years when South Carolina elects a governor, which puts those four on the ballot this fall. Districts 2, 4 and 6 come up in presidential election years.
How the Election Works
Lancaster school board races are nonpartisan. No party label appears next to a candidate’s name and there is no primary, so every qualified candidate goes directly to the Nov. 3 general election. The school board races share that ballot with the race for governor and the special election for the United States Senate seat.
Filing opened at noon Aug. 3 and closed at noon Monday at the Lancaster County Voter Registration and Elections office. Filed candidates and their filing documents are posted in a public candidate tracker maintained by the state, along with any withdrawals.
Under Article VI, Section 1 of the South Carolina Constitution, a candidate must be a registered voter in the area the office represents. A person convicted of a felony or an election law offense cannot file for or hold office until 15 years have passed since the sentence was completed, unless the person has been pardoned.
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
