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One-Call Response Center 24 Hours (803) 929-6000

Early Voting & Absentee Voting

Return all by mail absentee applications and ballots to: PO Box 5330, Columbia, SC 29250.

If you overnight your application or ballot: Please send to 2020 Hampton St. Columbia, SC 29204.
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 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 qualified 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.
  • Photo ID is required to vote.

 

Absentee Voting

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. 

  • All absentee voting will be absentee by mail.  There will be no in-person absentee voting at any time.

New qualifications:

  • Voters qualified to vote Absentee only if they are unable to vote in person (including any day during the early voting period or election day):
  1. persons with employment obligations who present written certification of the obligations to the county board of voter registration and elections 
  2. persons who will be attending sick or physically disabled persons 
  3. persons confined to a jail or pretrial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial ; or
  4. persons who are going to be absent from their county of residence 
  • Voters qualified to vote Absentee regardless of whether they could vote in person:
  1. physically disabled persons;
  2. persons sixty-five years of age or older 
  3. members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them ; or
  4. persons admitted to hospitals as emergency patients on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election, as provided in Section 7-15-330;

 

How to Vote Absentee

Step 1:  Get your application.

  • You can submit your request for an application as early as January 1 of the election year.
  • Call, visit or send your request by U.S. mail to your county voter registration office. 
  • You must provide your name, date of birth and last four digits of your Social Security Number.
  • You will be mailed an application.  
  • Find more information below on how Immediate Family Members and Authorized Representatives can request a voter’s application.

Step 2:  Complete, sign and return the 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 5:00 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.

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.

Step 4:  Vote and return the ballot. 

  • Return your ballot to your county voter registration office or an early voting center either by mail or personal delivery. 
  • 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.  NOTE: New witness requirements in recent legislation are not effective until July 1, 2022.  This page will be updated to include those requirements at that time.
  • Ballots must be received by the county voter registration office by 7:00 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.

Requesting an Application for Another Voter

Immediate Family Member

  • 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.

 

Authorized Representative

  • 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.

 

Returning an Application for Another Voter

Immediate Family Member

  • 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).

 

Authorized Representative

  • 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).

Returning an Absentee Ballot for Another Voter

Immediate Family Member and Authorized Representatives

  • 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.

Voters Admitted to Hospital as Emergency Patient

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. 

 

 If you have questions, Please contact (803) 576-2240.

 


 


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Richland County
South Carolina

Mailing Address
2020 Hampton Street
P.O. Box 192
Columbia, SC 29201

Physical Address
2020 Hampton Street
Columbia, SC 29204

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24 Hours (803) 929-6000

ombudsman@richlandcountysc.gov

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