South Carolina had record turnout for first day of early voting

SOUTH CAROLINA — Voters set a new record on the first day of early voting in South Carolina.

According to the South Carolina State Election Commission, about 125,900 people went to cast their ballots on Monday. It’s nearly 80% more than the previous one-day early voting record set during the General Election on Nov. 4, 2022, which was only 70,100 votes.

The news comes after North Carolina set the same record. According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections, 353,166 voters went to the polls on the first day of early voting in the Tar Heel State.

South Carolina election officials told Channel 9′s Tina Terry they expect lines at polling sites to grow longer as Election Day gets closer.

“I went around and there was no place to park, and even though a few people were pulling out, there were cars waiting to pull back in,” voter Emily Gray told Terry.

She said she stood in line for another 30 minutes after she finally parked at a site in Fort Mill.

“So I was like, ‘this is kind of crazy,’ I didn’t expect it to be this long,” Gray said.

Neither did election officials.

“It’s fantastic. We always like to see participation in the election process,” said York County election director Alan Helms.

He said 9,000 voters showed up to vote Monday in York County and he expects turnout to increase in the coming days. Voters also expect to see long lines. Gray was glad to see the enthusiasm, even though South Carolina isn’t a swing state.

“It felt great,” she said. “It warmed my heart a little bit because we’re South Carolina. We’re not a swing state.”

Election resources

Early voting in the Carolinas goes until Nov. 2. You can find early voting sites in South Carolina at this link and in North Carolina at this link.

To hear from the North Carolina candidates running for office in their own words, read the Political Beat’s Candidate Guide.

Before voting, be sure to check your S.C. or N.C. registration. You must also bring photo identification.

If you’re voting absentee, you can track your S.C. ballot or N.C. ballot.

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