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Voting in South Carolina

Register to Vote

You must be 18 years old by the time of the election. You can register online at scVOTES.gov or you can do it via paper application at the County Board of Elections.

The last day to register to vote is October 9th, 2022, and your registration should be postmarked by October 11th, 2022

Early Vote (In-person)

  • Any voter can visit an early-voting location in their county and vote like they would at their polling place on Election Day.

  • Early voting for the mid-term elections are:

    • Monday, October 24th to November 6th.  Closed Saturday and Sunday,

    • 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

    • All County Voter Registration and Elections Offices.

  • Any additional locations will be determined by the counties and posted to scVOTES.gov

  • Bring your Photo ID (or voter registration card if you do not have a Photo ID).

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      • Confined to a jail or pretrial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial.

      • Absent from their county for any reason.

In the state of South Carolina you typically need a reason for why you require an absentee ballot. Some examples can be due to working that day, physical disability, out-of-state students, being the age of 65 or older, etc. Basically there are a number of reasons you can use to justify your need of an absentee and still have your vote counted.

Absentee Voting (Mail-in)

  • Absentee voting allows qualified voters to cast a ballot by mail prior to Election Day.

  • Qualified absentee voters include:

    • Voters with disabilities

    • Voters sixty-five (65+) years of age or older

    • Members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them

    • Voters admitted to hospitals as emergency patients on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election

    • Voters who, for one of the following reasons, are unable to vote in person on any day of the early-voting period or on Election Day:

      • Employment obligations.

      • Attending sick or physically disabled persons.

      • Confined to a jail or pretrial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial.

      • Absent from their county for any reason.

To vote absentee

  • Request an absentee application by phone, mail, or in person at your county voter registration office.

  • Complete, sign and return the application to your county voter registration office by mail or in person.

  • County offices will soon begin issuing new applications based on the new requirements.

  • The old application will continue to be accepted through May 31.

  • After May 31, only new applications meeting current requirements will be accepted.

  • The deadline to return a new application is June 3.

  • You will receive your absentee ballot in the mail.

  • Vote and return your ballot to your county voter registration office by mail or in-person no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

  • Be sure to sign the voter’s oath and have the return envelope witnessed. There are no changes to the witness requirement in effect for the June Primaries. Witness requirement changes in the law go into effect in July.

  • Photo ID will be required to return your ballot in person.

  • Ballots returned by mail should be mailed no later than one week prior to election day to help ensure timely delivery.

But I'm A Ex-Felon

YES YOU CAN VOTE. BUT YOU MUST HAVE ALREADY SERVED YOUR SENTENCE AND NOT CURRENTLY BE ON PAROLE. YOU WILL HAVE TO RE-REGISTER TO VOTE AGAIN. YOU MAY NEED WRITTEN PROOF THAT YOU COMPLETED YOUR SENTENCE.

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