Early Voting & Absentee Voting
Return all by mail absentee applications and ballots to: PO Box 5330, Columbia, SC 29250
Check the Status of Your Absentee Ballot
Early Voting Now In Effect for June Primaries
COLUMBIA, SC (May 13, 2022) – On May 13, 2022, Governor McMaster signed into law the legislation passed by the General Assembly that establishes early voting in South Carolina.
Early Voting
In-person absentee voting has now been replaced with a two-week early voting period. Any voter can visit an early-voting location in their county and vote like they would at their polling place on Election Day.
- For statewide general elections, the early voting centers must be open from 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. on each day of the early voting period;
- For any election that is not a statewide general election or runoff election, the early voting centers must be open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. during the early voting period;
- For any runoff election, the early voting centers must be open on the Wednesday through Friday immediately preceding the election and must be open from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.; and
- For any election, the early voting centers must not be open on Sundays or on legal holidays.
Absentee (by-mail only)
Absentee voting allows qualified voters to cast a ballot by mail prior to Election Day. In-Person Absentee Voting is no longer authorized by law.
Qualified voters include:
- Voters with disabilities.
- Voters sixty-five 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, 2022.
- After May 31, 2022, only new applications meeting current requirements will be accepted.
- The deadline to return your completed application is 11 days prior to Election Day.
- 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.
- Ballots returned by mail should be mailed no later than one week prior to election day to help ensure timely delivery.
If you have questions, Please contact (803) 576-2240.