West Columbia, SC 06/15/2022 (Paul Kirby) – Representative Micah Caskey is fighting for his political career after facing a feisty newcomer named Melanie Shull who is challenging him for his SC House seat in District 89. This district encompasses West Columbia, Cayce, Springdale, and some unincorporated areas of Lexington County. As of 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, Caskey led by just 26 votes.
In most races, Failsafe and Provisional ballots have little effect on the outcome of an election. Both Failsafe and Provisionals are normally reviewed by the appropriate county’s Election Commission prior to being counted.
Failsafes are votes cast by voters that may have moved but have not changed their addresses on their government issued IDs. They may be counted once it has been proven that they voted in the precinct where they live at the time.
Provisional ballots are provided to voters if there is a problem at the polling place. As an example, if a registered voter shows up at his or her polling place to vote but the poll worker can not locate the voter’s name on the list provided for their precinct, they may be supplied with a Provisional ballot. Usually, the number of these two types of ballots are extremely low by percentage of votes cast but with just 26 votes separating the two candidates in this race, it is theoretically possible that these ballots could change the outcome.
Caskey has held this seat for three terms. Shull, a small business owner, wife, and mother has said during the campaign that Caskey was not conservative enough and pointed out issues she says proves that.
Currently in the vote count, Caskey has exceeded 50% of the votes but by a margin of just .43%. Shull received a total of 49.75% of the ballots cast on election day, in early voting, and through absentee voting. The Lexington County Voter Registration and Election Commission has not said when the final numbers will be ready for review.
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