Absentee Voting Underway for General Election

Posted on October 9, 2014

COLUMBIA, SC (October 9, 2014) - The State Election Commission wants voters to be aware of the procedures and deadlines for voting absentee in the 2014 General Election.

Qualified voters (reasons listed below) may vote absentee either in person or by mail:

IN PERSON - Visit your county voter registration office , complete an application, and cast your ballot. You may vote absentee in person up until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 3.

BY MAIL -

Step 1: Get an absentee application in one of two ways:

1. Get the application online at scVOTES.org. Follow this link to get your application online. You must be able to print your application.

2. Request an application from your county voter registration office by phone, mail, email, or fax. You will be mailed an application.

Step 2: Complete and sign the application and return it to your county voter registration office by mail, fax, or email as soon as possible and no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 31.

Step 3: Receive your absentee ballot in the mail and vote the ballot following the instructions.

Step 4: Return the ballot to your county voter registration office in person or by mail no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day (November 4).

Find more information on absentee voting, check your absentee ballot status, check your voter registration, and get a sample ballot at scVOTES.org.

As of today, more than 29,000 absentee ballots have been requested statewide. This number is consistent with the number of requests received by this time during the 2010 General Election (the last gubernatorial election). A total of 153,702 absentee ballots were cast in that election.

Voters qualified to vote by absentee ballot:

1. Students attending school outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents

2. Members of the Armed Forces or Merchant Marine serving outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents residing with them (click here for additional information)

3. Persons serving with the American Red Cross or United Service Organizations (USO) serving with the Armed Forces outside their county of residence and their spouses and dependents

4. Persons who, for reasons of employment, will not be able to vote on election day

5. Physically disabled persons

6. Government employees serving outside their county of residence on Election Day and their spouses and dependents residing with them

7. Persons with a death or funeral in the family within three days before the election

8. Persons who plan to be on vacation outside their county of residence on Election Day

9. Certified poll watchers, poll managers, and county election officials working on Election Day

10. Overseas Citizens (click here for additional information)

11. Persons attending sick or physically disabled persons

12. Persons admitted to the hospital as emergency patients on Election Day or within a four-day period before the election

13. Persons serving as a juror in state or federal court on Election Day

14. Persons sixty-five years of age or older

15. Persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial

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