Kershaw County School District elections (2016)
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Five of the nine seats on the Kershaw County School District board of trustees were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on June 14, 2016, for the District 5 race, as it was the only contested seat. Incumbent Louis Clyburn Jr. was defeated by challenger James Smith for that seat, and Smith advanced to the general election. Incumbents Derrick Proctor, Matt Irick, and Ron Blackmon were unopposed in Districts 3, 7, and 9, respectively. Newcomer Todd McDonald was also unopposed in District 1, which was left open when incumbent Mara Horton Jones decided not to run for re-election. All four unopposed seats did not appear on the primary ballot, but they did appear on the general election ballot.[1][2][3][4] Smith, Proctor, Irick, Blackmon, and McDonald were elected to the board in the general election.[5]
The high number of unopposed seats in this election followed a district trend. To see how this election compared to past elections in both the district and the state, check out the "Elections trends" section below.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Kershaw County board of trustees consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held by district on a staggered basis each even-numbered year. Seats 2, 4, 6, and 8 were up for election in 2014, and Seats 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were up for election in 2016. There was a primary election on June 14, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016.[4][6][7]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file their statement of intention of candidacy with the Kershaw County Voter Registration Office by March 30, 2016.[8]
To vote in the primary election, residents of the district had to register by May 14, 2016, and they had to register by October 8, 2016, to vote in the general election.[7] Photo identification was required to vote in South Carolina.[9]
Candidates and results
District 1
General election
Results
| Kershaw County School District, District 1 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Todd McDonald (unopposed) |
99.39% | 2,280 |
| Write-in votes | 0.61% | 14 |
| Total Votes | 2,294 | |
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State, "2016 Statewide General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Todd McDonald 
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Primary election
Results
This election did not appear on the ballot due to lack of opposition. Newcomer Todd McDonald automatically advanced to the general election that was held on November 8, 2016.[3][4]
District 3
General election
Results
| Kershaw County School District, District 3 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Derrick Proctor Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.15% | 1,863 |
| Write-in votes | 0.85% | 16 |
| Total Votes | 1,879 | |
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State, "2016 Statewide General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Derrick Proctor
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Primary election
Results
This election did not appear on the ballot due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Derrick Proctor automatically advanced to the general election that was held on November 8, 2016.[3][4]
District 5
General election
Results
| Kershaw County School District, District 5 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| James Smith (unopposed) |
99.18% | 2,304 |
| Write-in votes | 0.82% | 19 |
| Total Votes | 2,323 | |
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State, "2016 Statewide General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| James Smith
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Primary election
Results
| Kershaw County School District, District 5 Primary Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| James Smith |
68.66% | 322 |
| Louis Clyburn Jr. Incumbent | 31.34% | 147 |
| Total Votes | 469 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Kershaw County Voter Registration," July 5, 2016 | ||
Candidates who lost in the primary
| Louis Clyburn Jr.
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District 7
General election
Results
| Kershaw County School District, District 7 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Matt Irick Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.26% | 2,294 |
| Write-in votes | 0.74% | 17 |
| Total Votes | 2,311 | |
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State, "2016 Statewide General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Matt Irick
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Primary election
Results
This election did not appear on the ballot due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Matt Irick automatically advanced to the general election that was held on November 8, 2016.[3][4]
District 9
General election
Results
| Kershaw County School District, District 9 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Ron Blackmon Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.42% | 1,890 |
| Write-in votes | 0.58% | 11 |
| Total Votes | 1,901 | |
| Source: South Carolina Secretary of State, "2016 Statewide General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Ron Blackmon
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Primary election
Results
This election did not appear on the ballot due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Ron Blackmon automatically advanced to the general election that was held on November 8, 2016.[3][4]
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: South Carolina elections, 2016
The Kershaw County School District primary election shared the ballot with primary elections for District 5 on the U.S. House of Representatives, Districts 50 and 80 on the South Carolina State House of Representatives, and District 3 on the Kershaw County Council.[10]
The district's general election shared the ballot with general elections for District 5 on the U.S. House of Representatives, the District 22, 27, and 35 seats on the South Carolina State Senate, the District 50, 52, 65, and 80 seats on the South Carolina State House of Representatives, the Kershaw County Clerk of Court, and the District 1, 2, and 3 seats on the Kershaw County Council.[11]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Kershaw County School District election:[4][8]
| Deadline | Event |
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| March 16, 2016 - March 30, 2016 | Candidate filing period |
| May 14, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for primary election |
| June 14, 2016 | Primary election date |
| October 8, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| November 8, 2016 | General election date |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Candidates had to submit a Statement of Economic Interests report by April 14, 2016. The first campaign finance reporting deadline for candidates in this race was May 31, 2016. If candidates received or spent $500 or more, including their own money, before that filing deadline, they had to file a report within 10 days. The pre-election reporting deadline for the general election was October 25, 2016.[12]
Reports
Candidates received a total of $2,039.67 and spent a total of $1,847.00 in the election, according to the South Carolina State Ethics Commission.[13]
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd McDonald | $0.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $0.00 |
| Derrick Proctor | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Louis Clyburn Jr. | $0.00 | $1,367.00 | $1,367.00 | $0.00 |
| James Smith | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Matt Irick | $752.67 | $472.67 | $280.00 | $945.34 |
| Ron Blackmon | $0.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2014Seat 2
Seat 4Incumbent Shirley L. Halley won re-election unopposed. Seat 6Incumbent Kim Horton DuRant won re-election unopposed. Seat 8
2012Seat 1
Seat 3
Seat 5
Seat 7
Seat 9
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2014
Due to a lack of opposition, the result of the Kershaw County School District board of trustees general election was determined before it was held. Two new members were elected, and three incumbents retained their seats. One new member was guaranteed to join the board as he was running unopposed for an open seat. The second new member was guaranteed to be elected as he defeated the incumbent in the primary election on June 14, 2016, and ran unopposed in the general election.
In the district's 2014 election, two challengers defeated incumbents to win seats on the board. In 2012, three new members were elected to the board. Overall in 2014, school boards in South Carolina's largest school districts saw 34.74 percent of seats go to newcomers.
Four of the five seats (80 percent) up for election in the Kershaw County School District in 2016 were unopposed. This was not uncommon in the district. In 2012, four out of the five seats were also unopposed, and in 2014, two of the four seats (50 percent) up for election were unopposed. Statewide in 2014, 44.21 percent of school board seats saw no opposition.
With such a high percentage of unopposed seats, the district saw low candidate-per-seat averages in 2012, 2014, and 2016. In both 2012 and 2016, an average of 1.2 candidates ran per seat; in 2014, an average of 1.5 candidates ran per seat. These averages were lower than the average of 1.67 candidates who ran per seat in South Carolina's largest districts in 2014.
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Kershaw County School District is located in Kershaw County in north-central South Carolina. The county seat is Camden. Kershaw County was home to 63,603 residents as of July 1, 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[14] The district was the 22nd-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 10,493 students.[15]
Demographics
Kershaw County underperformed compared to South Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 20 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 25.3 percent of state residents. The median household income in Kershaw County was $43,203 during that time period, compared to $45,033 for the entire state. The poverty rate was 17.4 percent, compared to 18 percent statewide.[14]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kershaw County School District' 'South Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Kershaw County School District | South Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/14/2016 Kershaw County School Board Gen Election," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ Kershaw County School District, "Directory of School Board Trustees," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Jim Fitzpatrick, Kershaw County Voter Registration," April 19, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with the Kershaw County Voter Registration," June 15, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Secretary of State, "2016 Statewide General Election," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Kershaw County Voter Registration, "Candidates and Campaigns," accessed March 29, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Election Calendar," accessed March 29, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 South Carolina State Election Commission, "2016 Candidate Filing Period Opens," accessed March 29, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "New Photo ID Requirements - What Voters in November 5th Elections Need to Know," accessed March 29, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 6/14/2016 Statewide Primary: Kershaw County," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina Election Commission, "Candidate Listing for the 11/8/2016 Statewide General Election," accessed June 15, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "Election Materials," accessed April 7, 2016
- ↑ South Carolina State Ethics Commission, "Individual Reports," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 United States Census Bureau, "Kershaw County, South Carolina," accessed March 29, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed March 29, 2016
| 2016 Kershaw County School District Elections | |
| Kershaw County, South Carolina. | |
| Election date: | Primary election: June 14, 2016 • General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Todd McDonald District 3: • Incumbent, Derrick Proctor District 5: • Incumbent, Louis Clyburn Jr. • James Smith District 7: • Incumbent, Matt Irick District 9: • Incumbent, Ron Blackmon |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
