Photo by Shawn Drury
From SC Patch
Just when the controversy regarding Richland County elections seemed to by dying down, events took another turn on Monday evening.
Liz Crum, the chairwoman of the Richland County Elections Commission, will resign her position, effective Tuesday morning.
Crum oversaw elections in Richland County during a horrendous 2012 Election Day that included hours-long waits to vote.
Crum, who spoke to media following the commission’s meeting on Monday evening, also called for Director Lillian McBride to step down.
“I no longer have confidence in Ms. McBride to lead elections,” said Crum, who said her decision was made harder due to the fact that she considers McBride a friend.
Crum’s position is unpaid. McBride draws approximately $89,000 per year in salary. Rep. Nathan Ballentine and Sen. John Courson have also called for McBride to be replaced. McBride did not comment on Monday when asked about Crum’s decision, nor did Gary Baum, the Assistant Director.
Ballentine reiterated his call for McBride to be replace. He gave the following statement to Patch:
“Liz Crum has listened to the overwhelming voices of Richland County voters and I thank her for understanding that personnel changes are needed to restore confidence in the election process. While Ms. Crum and only a small number of my delegation colleagues understand more changes are needed, I’m getting the feeling the Election Board – the only ones apparently able to make personnel decisions according to the Attorney General – seems to have no interest in publicly discussing the one decision everyone knows needs to be made. How many more weeks of ‘studying reports’ do they need?”
Antjuan Seawright, spokesperson for Sen. Darrell Jackson, who chairs the Richland County Legislative Delegation, said Jackson would have no comment.