Voter Registration
Registration Deadline: You must be registered at least 30 days prior to any election in order to vote in that election. Registration by mail applications must be postmarked at least 30 days prior to that particular election to be eligible.
Voter Registration Qualifications
Age: Must be at least eighteen years old on or before the next election
Citizenship: Must be a United States citizen
Residency: Must be a resident of South Carolina, the county, and the precinct in which you will be voting. There is no length of residency requirement in South Carolina in order to register to vote.
Mental Competency: Must not be under a court order declaring you mentally incompetent
Felony Convictions: Not be confined in any public prison resulting from a conviction of a crime. Have never been convicted of a felony or offense against the election laws OR if previously convicted, have served the entire sentence, including probation or parole, or have received a pardon for the conviction.
Party Affiliation: South Carolina does not have registration by party. In primaries, you can vote in only one party's primary.
Obtaining a Voter Registration Form
Online: To complete your Voter Registration online, you MUST have a valid driver's license or identification card issued by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles. If your address has changed, you MUST update your address with DMV first before proceeding with Online Voter Registration.
In Person: Register in person at your county board of voter registration. You can also register while receiving services at various agencies including the Department of Motor Vehicles. See a complete list of agencies providing voter registration under the National Voter Registration Act.
By Mail/Email/Fax: Download a form. complete it, and mail/fax/email it to your county board of voter registration.
Verifying Your Voter Registration Status
Online: South Carolina Voter Registration Verification
Absentee Ballot Qualifications
-Persons with employment obligations which prevent them from voting during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
-Persons attending a sick or physically disabled person which prevents them from voting during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
-Persons confined to a jail or pretrial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial which prevents them from voting during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
-Persons who will be absent from their county of residence during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
-Persons with physical disabilities.
-Persons 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 (Learn more about procedures related to Military and Overseas Citizens).
-Persons admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of the election or within a four-day period before the election (see additional details below).
Obtaining an Absentee Ballot
In person: Visit your county voter registration office, complete an application, and cast your ballot. You may vote absentee in person up until 5:00 p.m. on the day before the election. You would need Photo ID to vote at the polling place.
By mail: Follow these steps to vote absentee by mail. Photo ID is not required to vote absentee by mail.
Step 1: Get an absentee application in one of two ways:
- Use this link to get your application online, you must be able to print your application or save your application for printing later. You can also use this link to access your application to print again.
- Request an application for yourself or your immediate family member from the county voter registration office in your county of residence by phone, mail, email, or fax. You will be mailed an application.
Step 2: You've now printed your application online or received your application in the mail. You must now complete and sign the application and return it to your county voter registration office. You should return the application as soon as possible but no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 4th day prior to the election (the 4th day is Friday for all Tuesday elections). You may return the application by mail, email, fax, or personal delivery.
Step 3: Receive your absentee ballot in the mail. Voters who have applied early will be mailed their absentee ballot approximately 30 days before the election.
Submitting an Absentee Ballot
Location and time: Vote the ballot following ballot instructions and return it to the county voter registration office in your county of residence by 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election. 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. You may return the ballot personally or by mail. You may also have another person return the ballot for you, but you must first complete an authorization to return an absentee ballot form, available from your county voter registration office.
Military and overseas voting: South Carolina Military and Overseas Information
VOTING ON ELECTION DAY
Polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone in line at 7:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
When voting in person, you will be asked to show one of the following Photo IDs at your polling place:
*SC Driver's License
*SC Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card
*SC Voter Registration Card with Photo
*Federal Military ID
*US Passport
For more information about Voter ID click here
COLLEGE STUDENT VOTERS
Students may register to vote where they reside while attending college.This could be at an address in the college community (e.g., a dormitory) or at an address you intend to return to while not in the college community (e.g., family home). For guidance in determining what residence to claim for voter registration purposes, see S.C. Code of Laws Section 7-1-25.
Many college students who live on campus receive their mail at a campus post office box. These students must register at the physical address of their dormitory. The student's P.O. Box can be provided for mailing and contact purposes.
If you are planning a voter registration drive at an institution of higher learning, please make sure you have the National Voter Registration Application for students who maintain their residency outside of South Carolina. For a list of addresses of Election Commissions throughout the country please see the Election Assistance Commission website.
FAILSAFE VOTING
Failsafe voting is designed to allow voters who have moved but failed to update their address to update their address on election day and vote. Failsafe voting is available to voters in the following situations:
*Voter moves from one address to another within the same precinct.
*Voter moves from one precinct to another within the same county.
*Voter moves from one South Carolina county to another within 30 days of an election.
*Voter moves from one state to another after the deadline to register to vote in a Presidential election in the new state of residence.
For more information click here
Additional Information
Verifying Registration: South Carolina Voter Registration Verification
Deciding how to vote: https://votesmart.org
Polling Place: Select your county to learn about polling locations near you.
How to Vote: South Carolina Voting Information
Verifying provisional ballot status: Verify Provisional Ballot
Verifying absentee ballot status: Verify Absentee Ballot
HAVA Act: Hava Information