Early voting in SC sets new midterm record

COLUMBIA — Early voting in South Carolina hit a new record Monday for a gubernatorial election, according to state Election Commission data.

Nearly 564,000 South Carolinians had voted as of 3 p.m., topping the total ballots cast ahead of Election Day in 2022 by more than 2,000 votes. That year marked the first election cycle under the state law that standardized no-excuse-needed early voting statewide.

The tally is still well below the all-time record. Two years ago, almost 1.5 million people voted early in the contest with presidential nominees on the ballot.

Early voting accounted for more than 57% of all ballots cast in the election won by President Donald Trump, compared to one-third of all votes in 2022, according to state elections data.

Early voting continues through Saturday.

By law, each county must offer at least one early voting location from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Counties can open up to seven locations.

Prior to 2020, South Carolinians could vote absentee either by mail or at county offices ahead of the election, but they had to select a reason for being unable to vote on Election Day. Legislators temporarily changed that in 2020 amid the pandemic, allowing every registered voter to cast a ballot early in person without needing an excuse — or being forced to lie. But each county sets its own rules for opening hours and days.

The law signed in May 2022 that established two weeks of true early voting also changed rules for absentee ballots. It remains an option by mail, but only for voters who can’t show up in person either on Election Day or during the entire early voting window. The deadline for requesting an absentee ballot passed last week.