Early and Absentee Voting

• You can request for an application as early as January 1 of the election year.
• Call 803-576-2240 Option 2, or visit us at The Richland County Voter Registration & Elections Office at 2020 Hampton St. Columbia, SC 29204 or send your request by U.S. mail to Richland County Voter Registration & Elections c/o Absentee Services at P.O. Box 192 Columbia, SC 29202.
• You must provide your name, date of birth and last four digits of your Social Security Number.
• You will be mailed an application to complete and return.
• Find more information below on how Immediate Family Members and Authorized Representatives can request a voter’s application.

• Return the application by U.S. mail or personal delivery to your county voter registration office as soon as possible.
• The deadline to return your application is 5 p.m. on the 11th day prior to the election.
• Find more information below on how Immediate Family Members and Authorized Representatives can return a voter’s application.

• Voters who have applied early will be mailed their absentee ballot approximately 30 days before the election.

• Return your ballot to your county voter registration office or an early voting center either by mail or personal delivery.
• Must present Photo ID when returning the ballot return envelope.
• Acceptable Photo IDs:
  • Driver's license issued by a state within the United States
  • Another form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or its equivalent by a state within the United States
  • Passport
  • Military identification containing a photograph issued by the federal government
  • South Carolina voter registration card containing a photograph of the voter.
• Place the ballot in the "ballot here-in" envelope and place the "ballot here-in" envelope in the return envelope.
• Be sure to sign the voter's oath and have your signature witnessed. Anyone can witness your signature. A notary is not necessary.
• Ballots must be received by the county voter registration office by 7 p.m. on election day.
• Ballots returned by mail should be mailed no later than one week prior to election day to help ensure timely delivery.

• Includes Spouse, Parent, Child, Brother, Sister, Grandparent, Grandchild, Mother-in-law, Father-in-law, Brother-in-law, Sister-in-law, Son-in-law, Daughter-in-law.
• May request the voter’s application by calling or visiting your county voter registration office or sending the request via the U.S. Postal Service to your county voter registration office.
• Must provide the voter’s name, date of birth and last four digits of voter’s Social Security Number.
• Must provide the requestor’s name, address, date of birth and relation to the voter.
• Requestors are limited to five requests in addition to their own per election.

• Must sign an oath that he meets the requirements of being an Authorized Representative by completing the Authorized Representative form.
• Must request application in person or by mail (may not request by phone).
• Must be a registered voter.
• Must have permission to act on behalf of a voter who is unable to go to the polls because of illness or disability resulting in his confinement in a hospital, sanatorium, nursing home, or place of residence, or is unable because of a physical handicap to go to his polling place or because of a handicap is unable to vote at his polling place due to existing architectural barriers that deny him physical access to the polling place, voting booth, or voting apparatus or machinery.
• A candidate, a member of a candidate's paid campaign staff, or a campaign volunteer may not serve as an Authorized Representative unless the person is a member of the voter’s immediate family.
• Requestors are limited to five requests in addition to their own per election.

• See definition of immediate family member under Requesting an Application for Another Voter above.
• Must return the voter’s application to the voter’s county voter registration office in person (mailing NOT allowed).

• Must meet the qualifications under Requesting an Application for Another Voter above and have submitted an Authorized Representative form.
• Must return the voter’s application to the voter’s county voter registration office in person (mailing NOT allowed).

• See definition of Immediate Family Member and Authorized Representative under Requesting an Application for Another Voter above.
• Voter and person returning the ballot must complete and sign the Authorized Returnee form.
• Must return the ballot return envelope in person at the voter’s county voter registration office or an early voting center in the voter’s county of residence (mailing is NOT allowed).
• Must present the Authorized Returnee form and Photo ID when returning the ballot return envelope.
• Acceptable Photo IDs:
  • Driver's license issued by a state within the United States
  • Another form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or its equivalent by a state within the United States
  • Passport
  • Military identification containing a photograph issued by the federal government
  • South Carolina voter registration card containing a photograph of the voter.
• Returnees are limited to five returns in addition to their own per election.
  • Returning more than five ballots for other voters is now a felony crime punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or five years in prison, or both.

• Voters admitted to the hospital as an emergency patient on the day of the election or within four days of the election can have an immediate family member apply for and deliver a ballot to them.

Visit SCVotes.gov for information.