A former South Carolina election official has apologized for his Internet posting that compared a gorilla to an ancestor of first lady Michelle Obama. Former state Election Commission Chairman Rusty DePass read a statement during an NAACP news conference in Columbia Wednesday saying his comments were offensive and foolish. WJBF News Channel 6’s SC Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has more.

The state NAACP is demanding an apology from a former South Carolina official whose Internet posting suggested a gorilla that escaped from the Columbia zoo was an ancestor of first lady Michelle Obama.

There are still teaching positions to be filled, according to an online teacher vacancy database maintained by the Center for Educator Recruitment, Retention, & Advancement (CERRA) in Rock Hill. And many of the more than 300 vacancies will be filled Monday, June 1, at the 21st annual South Carolina Teacher Expo co-hosted by CERRA  and the South Carolina Association of School Administrators (SCASA).

South Carolina voters waited for hours to cast ballots Tuesday, some lining up before dawn to help decide a presidential election expected to draw record numbers to polling places. Officials reported no major problems after polls opened on time in all 46 counties. Polls close at 7 p.m.

Before you go vote, there are some important things you need to know first. And, one of them is about a false rumor going around, that plays off the long lines we’re already seeing for absentee voting. There’s also a law about what you cannot wear, or have with you, at the poll. WJBF News Channel 6’s Capitol reporter, Robert Kittle, has the details on what you should, and should not do, in a Vote 08 Report.

South Carolina election officials say a record-setting 2.5 million residents have registered to vote and that a record has been set for absentee ballots issued.