PHOTO: Turnout in black and white

Ninety-six percent of the 700,000+ South Carolinians who voted in Saturday’s GOP presidential primary were white, according to exit polls. You can sense that racial divide when you show up at polling locations in mostly black neighborhoods versus those in areas where more white residents live. At left, no one was in line at 9:45 a.m. to vote at Sanders Clyde Elementary School on Charleston’s east side. When polls closed in the two precincts at the school, 75 of 2,620 registered voters (2.9 percent) cast ballots. Contrast the turnout at Stiles Point Elementary School in James Island, where almost 600 voted by noon and people had to wait 15 to 20 minutes to cast their ballots. When polls closed in the three precincts at the school, 1,242 voters of 4,839 cast ballots — a 25.7 percent turnout.  We plan on returning this Saturday to see whether there’s a difference. Photos by Andy Brack.