Bill establishing early voting moves forward in SC House

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill that would establish no-excuse early voting is moving forward in the South Carolina House.

A panel of representatives on Tuesday made tweaks to the proposal, sponsored by House Speaker Jay Lucas and backed by about 50 other Republican House members, that would make early in-person voting permanent for two weeks before an election.

Some of those changes include removing a rule that required polling places in each county be at least 10 miles (16 kilometers) apart, instead letting local election officials choose voting locations while considering geography, population and accessibility.

Lawmakers also changed a requirement that people applying for an absentee mail-in ballot provide an identification number from a photo ID. Instead, voters could use the last four digits of their Social Security number.

Courts and the state legislature temporarily adjusted voting rules in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, allowing all voters to vote absentee. More than 1.3 million South Carolinians cast absentee ballots, both in person and by mail, during the general election that year, setting a state record for advance voting.

South Carolina law currently lets people vote absentee, either in person or by mail, ahead of an election if they have an allowable reason such as being physically disabled or 65 or older.

The full House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up the legislation Wednesday.

(WATCH BELOW: South Carolina heads into Election Day with record absentee numbers)

South Carolina heads into Election Day with record absentee numbers

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