Witness signatures to be required for mail voting

An appeals court has reversed an earlier ruling and now South Carolinians who qualify to vote absentee by mail must now have their signatures witnessed.  Chris Whitmire, director of public information for the state Election Commission, made that announcement yesterday and said his office will continue to notify the public of any changes to the witness requirement through the media and at scvotes.org.  For several weeks, the office of Oconee Elections and Registration has been fielding applications for mail ballots and is expected soon to send approved ballots out into the mail.