Voting Step By Step
S.C. Code 7-5-150 and S.C. Code 7-13-710 — the books close thirty days out, and a photo identification at the polls
Nobody votes in South Carolina without being registered. A citizen who meets the age qualification, is not under a constitutional disability, and lives in the county and precinct is registered on applying.
Thirty days before. The registration books close thirty days before each election and stay closed until it has taken place. A person who comes of age during those thirty days may register before the books close if otherwise qualified, and a service member discharged too late to register may register at the county board up to 5:00 p.m. on election day.
- A South Carolina driver's license.
- Another photo identification issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
- A passport.
- A federal military identification with a photograph.
- A South Carolina voter registration card with a photograph.
Those are the identifications, valid and current, a voter produces at the polls. A voter without one may cast a provisional ballot, counted only if the voter brings a valid photo identification to the county board before the canvass is certified. A religious objection to being photographed, or a reasonable impediment to getting one, is sworn to by affidavit instead.
A voter who needs help because of blindness, disability or inability to read or write tells the managers, and may be helped by a person of the voter's choosing other than the employer or a union officer or agent. A voter may bring minor children into the booth.
Absentee: by the eleventh day before. Physically disabled voters, voters sixty-five years of age or older, members of the armed forces and their families, and others unable to vote early or on election day, such as for work or travel out of the county, may vote absentee. The completed application reaches the county board by 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day before the election.
A voter admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient shortly before the election may vote through an immediate family member under its own rule. Early voting, ballot deadlines and the forms are set out across Title 7. A particular question is for the county board of voter registration and elections.
Sources for this section (7)
- S.C. Code 7-5-110 — Persons must register in order to vote
- S.C. Code 7-5-120 — Qualifications for registration; persons disqualified from registering or voting
- S.C. Code 7-5-150 — Closing registration books
- S.C. Code 7-13-710 — Proof of right to vote; signing poll list; provisional ballot
- S.C. Code 7-13-770 — Voters requiring assistance; minor children accompanying parent into booth
- S.C. Code 7-15-320 — Persons qualified to vote by absentee ballot
- S.C. Code 7-15-330 — Time of application for absentee ballot
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.