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South Carolina Voting: Casting Your Ballot

Casting a Ballot in South Carolina

Polling places and hours

  • Use the Voter Information Request online to find your polling place.
  • For a general election or primary, polls in South Carolina 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.
  • Time off to vote: South Carolina does not require employers to give employees time off to vote.
  • County Voter Registration and Elections Office: 366 North Church Street, Conference Room 6, Spartanburg, SC 29303
  • Boiling Springs Library: 871 Double Bridge Road, Boiling Springs, SC 29316
  • Woodruff Library: 270 East Hayne Street, Woodruff, SC 29388

Absentee voting: Who is eligible to use an absentee ballot?

In order to apply for and receive an absentee ballot, you must meet one of the following requirements:

  • Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine serving outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them
  • Persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them
  • Overseas Citizens
  • Persons who are physically disabled
  • Students attending school outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them
  • Persons who for reasons of employment will not be able to vote on election day
  • Government employees serving outside their county of residence on Election Day and their spouses and dependents residing with them
  • Persons who plan to be on vacation outside their county of residence on Election Day
  • Persons serving as a juror in state or federal court on Election Day Persons admitted to the hospital as emergency patients on Election Day or within a four-day period before the election
  • Persons with a death or funeral in the family within three days before the election
  • Persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial
  • Persons attending sick or physically disabled persons
  • Certified poll watchers, poll managers, and county election officials working on Election Day
  • Persons sixty-five years of age or older Persons who for religious reasons do not want to vote on a Saturday (Presidential Primaries Only)

Military voters and voters who reside outside the U.S.

  • Military and overseas citizens voters can register this status through the Electronic Voting Accessibility Tool
  • Once UOCAVA (Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act) status is in effect, your county election office will send you a ballot through your preferred choice of communication no later than 45 days prior to any election in which you are eligible to vote. Indicate on your FPCA your preferred method of communication with your county elections office. Your preferred method of communication can be mail, fax or email.
  • If you are returning your ballot by email, fax, or personal delivery, your ballot must be returned to the office no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the election. If you are returning your ballot by mail, you must mail your ballot no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the election.
  • For more information regarding Military & Overseas Citizens, please visit the South Carolina Election Committee.

Application for Absentee Ballot.

Absentee voting is a 5-step process!

1.  Call, come in to the office, or send a letter to the Voter Registration Office and ask for an Absentee Ballot Request Form.

2.  Complete and submit the Absentee Ballot Request Form by mail. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot for the 2024 General Election is October 25, 2024 by 5:00 p.m.

3.  Receive an Absentee Ballot in the mail.

4.  Complete the Absentee Ballot.

5.  Mail the Absentee Ballot to the Voter Registration Office.  Ballot MUST be received by the deadline:  November 5, 2024 by 7:00 p.m.

Because the process is multi-step, and mail delivery times can be unpredictable, complete the process as early as possible to ensure your vote is received on time and counted.  

Rides to the polls:

Several organizations offer free rides to polling places. Some of these include:

  • Lyft provides free or discounted rides in some underserved communities
  • Political parties sometimes arrange rides for voters. Contact the local office to see if they are participating:

Help for voters with disabilities

Disability Rights South Carolina assists South Carolina residence with disabilities to vote.  Specific details and resources can be found on their Voting page.  

Curbside voting

Any voter who, because of physical handicap or age (65 or older), cannot enter the polling place where they are registered to vote or is unable to stand in line to vote may vote outside that polling place in the closest available parking area, using the vehicle which they drove to (or in which they have been driven to) the polls.

Assistance at Poll

Assistance in marking a ballot is allowed only if the voter is blind, illiterate or physically handicapped. A voter entitled to receive assistance may choose anyone to assist except his employer, agent of his employer, or an officer or agent of his union.

For more information regarding Voters with Disabilities, please visit the South Carolina Election Committee.

Ballots: