Dabo Swinney Encounters Voting Mix-Up on Election Day

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney struggled to cast his vote in Tuesday’s elections, being told at the polling station that he’d already voted.

Swinney, whose first name is William, told reporters that his son, Will, had already voted, and that selection had been incorrectly counted for the father.

Before everyone realized the truth, Swinney joked that his team’s 33–21 loss to Louisville on Saturday was the reason for the error. “They done voted me out of the state, lost a game,” Swinney told the media. “We’re 6–2 and 5–1 [in the ACC], man. They done shipped me off.”

Swinney said the voting process took an hour, and he was told he could fill out a paper ballot, but there will be a hearing on the situation Friday. “I don’t know if it’ll matter on Friday,” Swinney said.

The Republican presidential candidate has won South Carolina in every election since 1980, and former president Donald Trump won by more than 11 percentage points in each of the last two elections. Trump is once again expected to pick up an easy win in the state, meaning the father and son’s votes Friday likely won’t impact the presidential race.

“I was trying to do my best and be a good citizen and go vote,” he said. “Sometimes doing your best ain’t good enough. You have to keep going though, keep figuring it out.”

Swinney makes $11.5 million a year, and he is the second-highest-paid coach in college football behind Georgia’s Kirby Smart. He led the Tigers to national championships in 2016 and 2018. The team currently sits third in the ACC behind conference newcomer SMU and undefeated Miami.