By David Meade
Pelzer Town Clerk Heather Holcombe said that the petition for annexation has been turned over to the Anderson County Election Commission for certification with 199 names on it.
Supporters of the annexation movement in Pelzer have been working to have at least 180 signatures on the petition when it was turned in on Monday to allow a buffer well over the 25 percent required to have the question put to a referendum vote.
The Pelzer voting precinct has 559 registered voters. As required by the annexation method, 25 percent of those, or 145, have to sign the petition for it to move forward.
Holcombe said she expects the verification process to be completed by the end of the week.
Once the petition list is verified and receipted, the town will hold a special meeting to pass a resolution verifying whether the petition is valid or not and if it passes, the county election commission board will set date for an election.
The official resolution will be sent back to the Anderson County Election Commission for the Election Board to act on during their meeting at 4:30 p.m. on April 4. The County Election Board will then set the date for the annexation election, which is expected to be June 9.
The special election will be held at the Community Building which is the normal polling location for voters in the Pelzer precinct.
The proposed area of annexation is the entire Pelzer voting precinct.
The town has been collecting signatures under the Annexation by Elector Petition and Election Method allowed by the state. If the petition certification and resolution go as planned, registered voters in the Pelzer voting precinct will have the opportunity to go to the polls and vote on whether they want the town limits expanded to include the entire Pelzer precinct area.
Those encouraging the annexation process hope that their effort will eventually help with combating crime and other problems. If it succeeds, residents will also be able to vote in town elections later this year.
