Polls open Tuesday morning across South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – Polls across South Carolina for the 2024 general election will open at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

This year, the presidential election, a statewide referendum, all state House seats and a variety of local races are on the ballot.

Over the past two weeks, a record number of South Carolinians — just over a million and a half people, either in person or by mail — have voted early. That's about 46 percent of the state's registered voters.

Election officials say that unlike early voting, registered voters must go to their specific, assigned polling locations to vote.

Click here to find your polling place.

“We prepared for the largest voter turnout possible, and that's exactly what we achieved,” said John Michael Catalano, spokesman for the South Carolina Elections Commission. “These early voting numbers are historic. In no other election have so many ballots been cast before Election Day.”

For registered voters who have not yet cast their ballot, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The State Election Commission reminds voters to check with their precinct in advance in case it has been moved since the last election.

Voters must present a valid photo ID to check-in. Acceptable forms of photo ID include a South Carolina driver's license, a South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles identification card, a South Carolina Concealed Weapons Permit, a South Carolina photo voter registration card, a U.S. military ID card, and a U.S. passport.

If you still have a mail-in ballot, the deadline to return it is 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to return their ballots in person to ensure they are received before the deadline.

The votes will not be counted until after polls close at 7 p.m

“We should be 100% done here by the next morning, so you should know the winners and losers of all the local races and what's happening here in South Carolina,” Catalano said. “Of course, for the presidency we rely on 49 other states to submit their results as well, so I can’t speak for that office, but we should have all of South Carolina’s results by election night.”

The State Election Commission says if you vote on Tuesday, it's hard to predict how long you'll have to wait in line, although more people typically leave in the morning.

But they say South Carolina's high early voter turnout should help reduce overall wait times.

Several organizations, including the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority, the South Carolina Coalition for Voter Participation and the Airport Limo Taxi Association at Charleston International Airport, are offering free rides to the polls.

People voting toward the end of the day must be in line by 7 p.m. to cast their vote. As long as they are in line by then, they can vote.

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