COLUMBIA, S.C. — Gov. Henry McMaster has signed into law a bill allowing anyone to vote absentee in next month’s statewide primary and runoffs.
Both the House and Senate passed the proposal Tuesday to assure no one has to vote in person for the June 9 primaries because of the coronavirus. The narrowly tailored law only applies to this year’s primaries.
Lawmakers said they will consider in the summer or early fall if changes need to be made for November’s elections.
Election officials also have been given $15 million for additional virus safety measures for next month's in-person voting.
Here is the website where you can find out how to vote absentee in South Carolina.
Step 1: Get an absentee application in one of two ways:
- Get the application online. Use this link to get your application or the application of an immediate family member online. To get your application online, you must be able to print your application or save your application for printing later. You can also use this link to access your application to print again.
- Request an application for yourself or your immediate family member from the county voter registration office in your county of residence by phone, mail, email, or fax. You will be mailed an application.
See complete rules below on requesting applications for other voters.
Step 2: You've now printed your application online or received your application in the mail. You must now complete and sign the application and return it to your county voter registration office. You should return the application as soon as possible but no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 4th day prior to the election (the 4th day is Friday for all Tuesday elections). You may return the application by mail, email, fax, or personal delivery.
Step 3: Receive your absentee ballot in the mail.
Step 4: Vote the ballot following ballot instructions and return it to the county voter registration office in your county of residence by 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election. You may return the ballot personally or by mail. You may also have another person return the ballot for you, but you must first complete an authorization to return absentee ballot form, available from your county voter registration office.