The Town of Bluffton Municipal General Election will be held Nov. 5. Voters may cast their ballot for the office of Mayor and two Town Council seats.
Those seats are currently held by Mayor Lisa Sulka, Councilmember Dan Wood and Councilmember Harry Lutz. Voters must be registered no later than Oct. 4 to participate in the election.
The filing period for candidates for Town Council opened Aug. 6 and will close on Sept. 6 at noon. Late filings cannot be accepted.
To quality for candidacy, an individual must be a South Carolina registered voter who resides within the Town of Bluffton; must complete the required Statement of Intention of Candidacy – Non-Partisan, available at tinyurl.com/nonpartisonfilingform; must pay a filing fee of $100 for council seats and $150 for mayoral seat; and must file a Statement of Economic Interests with the South Carolina State Ethics Commission. This form is located at ethics.sc.gov.
The Town of Bluffton operates under a Council-Manager form of government, with a mayor and four additional council members, all of whom are elected at-large. Council members are compensated $10,000 annually for their service. The mayor is compensated $15,000 annually.
Council member terms are staggered every two years. Each term is 4 years in length. In 2017, Council members Larry Toomer and Fred Hamilton were re-elected for another term.
To check voter registration status, verify precinct or polling locations, visit the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections at bcgov.net/vote, or call 843-255-6900. For specific information regarding registering to vote, visit beaufortcountysc.gov/vote/voters.html.
For more information about filing for candidacy, contact Town Clerk Kim Chapman at 843-706-4505 or kchapman@townofbluffton.com.
