Reproduced from The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC (used with permission)
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Reeves asks court to reject Woodberry win

By: BOBBIE YOUNG    
Originally Published on: 10/22/94

    
    In Dorchester County, an election isn't over until everybody sings.
    Wayne Reeves, who has lost, won and lost again the Republican nomination for County Council District 3, is giving it another try.
    Reeves asked the S.C. Supreme Court on Friday to reconsider its decision to uphold J.C. Woodberry as the party's nominee. He also asked that the hearing on his request be held quickly or that the Nov. 8 council election be delayed until a hearing can be held.
    Woodberry won the Aug. 9 primary by 59 votes. Reeves won a new election from the county GOP when he documented numerous voter irregularities, such as ineligible voters voting and eligible voters not being allowed to vote.
    The state party's executive committee upheld the county party's decision, and another vote was held Sept. 13. Reeves won that election by 28 votes.
    Woodberry appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled that there were not enough officially challenged ballots to have changed the results of the first election. The ruling said that because Reeves had not challenged each of the questionable ballots, the first election should stand and the second one be declared void.
    Reeves' attorney, Christine Companion of Charleston, said the court failed to consider that Reeves could not have challenged all the questionable ballots because in some cases the problems were not discovered until after voters were in the booth. State law requires that a challenge be issued before the voter has entered the booth.
    In Reeves' own case, when he tried to vote for himself at the Givhans precinct, the lever would not work. He complained and found out that the machine had not been set to accept votes in District 3.
    That precinct is one of 14 split precincts in the 16-precinct district.
    Companion said the ruling violates both Reeves' and the Republican Party's rights to due process.
    ``This ruling would make it incumbent on every candidate to educate every poll worker. It is not humanly possible when you have 14 split precincts out of 16 for Wayne Reeves or any other candidate to be physically there at each precinct or to educate every poll worker on how to run a machine.''
    Reeves said, ``I couldn't just give up the fight when I had so many people calling me and offering encouragement.''
    Woodberry had no comment.

Reproduced from The Post and Courier, Charleston, SC (used with permission)

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