Voting After A Conviction
S.C. Code 7-5-120 — no vote while serving a sentence, and the right returns once the sentence, probation and parole are served
- A person adjudicated mentally incompetent by a court.
- A person serving a term of imprisonment resulting from a conviction of a crime.
- A person convicted of a felony or of an offense against the election laws, until the disqualification is removed by serving the sentence, including probation and parole time, or sooner by a pardon.
Those are the people the section disqualifies from registering or voting.
The sentence served is the end of it. For a felony or an election offense, the disqualification lasts through the sentence and any probation and parole, and the section names no further waiting period or application to restore it. A person convicted of some other misdemeanor is disqualified only while actually serving a term of imprisonment for it.
Once the disqualification ends, a person registers as anyone else does. A particular sentence is a question for the county board of voter registration and elections or a licensed South Carolina attorney.
Sources for this section (1)
- S.C. Code 7-5-120 — Qualifications for registration; persons disqualified from registering or voting
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Carolina attorney.