Voting machines set up in 2023. (Provided by Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections)
COLUMBIA — Early voting in South Carolina is already smashing records.
About 125,900 people voted Monday, the opening day of early voting for the general election, according to a news release from the State Election Commission.
That’s a huge leap from the one-day high set on Nov. 4, 2022, when 70,100 people voted. That was the Friday before Election Day.
“We are thrilled to see voters embracing the convenience of early voting, and we are anticipating a significant turnout for this election,” said Howard Knapp, director of the State Election Commission, in the release.
Those voting Monday included members of South Carolina’s congressional delegation: Reps. Jim Clyburn, Nancy Mace and Joe Wilson, who are seeking re-election, all announced they voted on day one of early voting.
This is the first presidential election in South Carolina with true, no-excuse-needed early voting under a law passed in May 2022. Turnout tends to be higher in presidential elections than in midterms.
In 2020, the Legislature allowed people to vote absentee in person without needing an excuse for voting early. Previously, voters had to pick an allowed exemption for voting ahead of Election Day — or fib. Legislators suspended that rule amid the pandemic, but the changes were temporary. The 2022 law set up true, uniform early voting.
The 2020 general election marked the first time in state history that more people voted absentee than on Election Day; 1.3 million South Carolinians voted early, representing nearly 53% of all ballots cast.
But no one-day absentee tally in 2020 came close to Monday’s numbers, according to the state Election Commission.
There is still plenty of time to vote early, and every county has between one and seven locations where people can cast their ballot before Election Day. Any voter can go to whichever option is most convention for them in the county where they’re registered.
Polling locations across the state are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Saturday, Nov. 2, with one exception. They’ll be closed Oct. 27, since state law bans voting on Sunday.
For more information on election deadlines and candidates, visit our voter guide.
Adair Ford Boroughs, South Carolina’s U.S. Attorney, also announced Tuesday that she has appointed an attorney to oversee issues related to the election, including violations of voting rights, election fraud and any threats of violence to election administrators.
The appointment is part of the Department of Justice’s Election Day Program, which works to address violations of federal election law. The attorney overseeing the program in South Carolina is John Potterfield. His public number for complaints or concerns is (803) 919-3092.