LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Here's a look at what voters need to bring, where they need to go and how they can best prepare themselves before casting their ballot in Saturday's Republican Primary.
How to vote in the SC primary
According to the South Carolina State Election Commission, the only thing you need to bring to vote is a picture identification, which includes the following:
- a valid driver's license
- ID card issued by the SC Department of Motor Vehicles
- Voter registration card with photo
- federal Military ID
- US Passport
Who can vote in the SC primary
Currently, there is no law in South Carolina requiring you to be registered as a member of the Democratic or Republican parties in order to vote in either primary election. However, you can only vote in one -- not both -- of the primaries.
Where to vote in the SC primary
John Catalano, the public information officer for the election commission, said state law requires local elections offices to consolidate polling locations for this race.
"For presidential primaries though and for municipal elections, so these are two, these two types of elections, state law says that the election needs to be conducted in the most cost-efficient way possible, and that includes consolidating polling places," Catalano said.
There's a chance voters will have a different temporary site to cast their ballot. Voters can check that on SCVotes.gov by clicking "Find My Polling Place" and entering the requester information. It will show if the polling location has changed.
According to data from the South Carolina State Election Commission, there are 49 temporary voting locations in Lexington County and 92 in Richland County.
Travis Alexander, the voter registration director for Richland County, said his office considered distance when consolidating locations.
"Making sure that the voters in a certain area are no more than probably three miles from a certain location," he said. "So, we did consolidate considering the mileage from one location to another."
When to vote in the SC primary
Thursday, Feb. 22, was the last chance to vote early in the Republican Presidential Primary. The next and final opportunity will be on Saturday. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you are in line at 7 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.
The Democratic South Carolina primary was held on Feb. 3. President Joe Biden won with 96% of the vote.
Who is on the SC primary ballot?
Although some campaigns have been suspended, names may still appear on the Republican primary ballot
- Ryan L Binkley, pastor and businessman
- Chris Christie (campaign suspended)
- Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida (campaign suspended)
- Nikki Haley, former SC governor and US Ambassador to the United Nations
- Vivek Ramaswamy (campaign suspended)
- David Stuckenberg, veteran and entrepreneur
- Donald J Trump, former president
SC primary ballot questions
There are three advisory questions. These yes or no questions will help shape the Republican Party's statewide agenda. The questions are:
Should South Carolina law be changed to give people the right to register to vote with the political party of their choice?
Should South Carolina adopt reforms to increase the independence and accountability of our judiciary by improving transparency and reducing conflicts of interest in the process of reviewing judicial qualifications and electing judges?
Should it be an immediate legislative priority to protect South Carolina's competitiveness and small businesses by changing state law so that a person's responsibility for financial damages in a lawsuit is based on that person's actual share of responsibility?