Gonna head over to Mecklenburg County.
That is where we'll find our Nate Morbido.
Nate time is winding down
for voters at the polls.
What are you noticing out there?
Hey there. Well, I can tell you right now,
the US Department of Justice has had
poll monitors going out to election sites
throughout the day, dozens of them,
to maintain voter integrity.
Now they're not telling
us where they've been.
We visited several sites throughout
the day and just so happened to be
here at Shamrock Gardens Elementary
School when they showed up.
The election director told us even he
doesn't know where they've been and when,
the Department of Justice lawyers
are tasked with making sure no
one's voting rights.
Were violated,
but they can only monitor from
outside a polling site,
unlike registered partisan observers
who can watch inside.
While the federal government's
publicizing the effort this year,
this is actually remained a regular
practice for the last decade or so.
During every big election,
these poll monitors show up in
Mecklenburg County.
It's fine. Like I said,
if if we need somebody
to validate our process, we'd love having
them down to validate the process.
Now, the three lawyers who
were here today asked voters
questions as they left the site,
specifically about if they had any trouble
voting or any accessibility issues.
They spent about an hour here,
and they plan to have visited 48
precincts by the end of today,
reporting live in East Charlotte.
Nate Morabito, WCNC, Charlotte.
OK, Nate, thank you.
And right now we do want to cross the
state lines and get an update on the
Palmetto State where we see voters
there deciding, among other choices,
who should be the next.
The governor of the state,
incumbent Governor Henry McMaster,
expected to hold his seat against the
Democratic challenger, Joe Cunningham.
Let's get over to WCNC,
Charlotte Austin Walker joining us
from Columbia, where we see a lot
of the action tonight taking place.
What are you seeing there, Austin?
Yeah, Governor Mcmasters watch party is
set to kick off in just a few hours.
Droves of people expected to show up
to support the current governor to see
if he can once again reclaim his seat
as the Governor of South Carolina.
Now again he is going against challenger
Joe Cunningham to see again who
will take the seat as of tonight.
Now, a lot of the time they have spent
disagreeing on key controversial items.
At last week's debate much of the
conversation was around items like abortion,
access to legalized marijuana.
Teachers in the classroom and again
also the state of the economy.
That is a big topic right now,
the state of the economy and how
each candidate plans on moving
the Palmetto State forward.
Here's what they have to say about that.
This, this year, right now,
we have a record of capital
investment for our people.
It is over $5 billion.
We have never done that before.
What else have we done?
We've cut taxes.
Do you know that the income
tax rates in South Carolina
have never been cut before?
We cut them.
This time. We
want to eliminate the state income tax
because South Carolina has the highest
state income tax rate in the entire SE.
And with all due respect to Governor
McMaster, he's had over 40 years
in politics to eliminate it.
You look around at states like
Tennessee and Florida and Texas,
they're seeing unprecedented economic growth.
Now the two right there are not
seeing eye to eye on that issue.
This on the minds of voters
as polls close tonight at 7:00
o'clock in the Palmetto State.
If you have not gone out to vote,
you saw the few hours to
do so right now again.
We'll be live from Columbia,
SC all night tonight bring you
updates from inside the Governors
watch party and much more.
So follow us on air and online for the
latest details live in Columbia tonight.
Austin Walker, WCNC,
Charlotte, Austin thank you.
We'll check in a bit.
Alright, let's take another look
at another race in South Carolina.
Their incumbent Republican Tim Scott,
is facing off against Democrat
Crystal Matthews for the seat.
WCNC Charlotte Andeer Esquiva joins us from
Charleston with the latest there Indira.
Yeah, good evening.
Doors at the Charleston Place Hotel
are expected to open at 7:00 PM for
Senator Tim Scott's watch party that's
also imposed here in South Carolina.
close now. Senator Tim Scott has
been in Congress since around 2013.
He's running against Crystal Matthews,
who is a South Carolina
State House representative.
Now, beating Scott will be no easy feat.
He is quite popular here in South Carolina.
I went there.
Poll says he has a 66% approval rating.
The general public and an 89%
approval rating among Republicans.
The AP reported at the start of
his campaign that Scott said
this is his last bid for Senate.
This leaves people wondering,
will he run for President?
South Carolina Claflin University
professor Doctor Robert Green
says there are several reasons why
Senator Scott is an attractive
choice as a potential presidential
candidate for the Republican Party.
I think for Scott in particular,
he wants to embody a candidate who can
appeal to both the Trump base but also
appeal to other voters outside that base.
This is actually one of the key problems
for black conservatives is that they
are in a party that for many black
Americans still seems a bit hostile
to civil rights and voting rights.
But a figure like Tim Scott may be able
to find an an alternate path that can
reconcile those two sides to form a bigger
tent or a bigger coalition for the GOP.
Now there is not just one,
but two watch parties happening
in downtown Charleston today.
Democratic candidate for Governor Joe
Cunningham is also holding his watch
party in downtown Charleston at the
iconic American theater on King Street.
We'll be watching results all night
and we'll be bringing you the
results live live in Charleston,
Indira, Esquiva, WCNC
Charlotte Andira, thank you and WCNC.
Charlotte is your election headquarters,
our live coverage of all
the local and national.
Results on election night continues
throughout the evening here on WCNC,
Charlotte and streaming on
WCNC plus starting at 7:30 PM.
It's free to download on Roku
and Fire TV and join us again
tomorrow morning starting at 4:30
for a recap of Election Day 2022.
And you know, of course we
have our crews spread out at
polling sites across the area.
But don't forget to let us know
what you are seeing yourself.
You can text us about your
experience at the polls.
Let us know if you're seeing long lines,
delays, technical issues.
Anything that might be happening
there at your precinct you'd like us
to at least know about or look into?