COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina voters wasted little time once in-person early ballots became available for the 2026 general election, with 97,968 people casting ballots statewide on Monday, Oct. 19, according to a turnout report from state election officials.
The heaviest opening-day traffic came from the state’s largest counties. Charleston County led with 9,389 voters, Greenville County was close behind at 9,105, and Richland County ranked third with 7,757. Lexington County came in seventh at 4,474.
The first-day count trails the pace set two years ago. In 2024, roughly 125,900 South Carolinians showed up on the first day of the early window, a figure election officials described as a state record for a first day. That year carried a presidential race at the top of the ballot, while this fall is a midterm.
Voters have nearly two more weeks. In-person early voting continues through Saturday, Oct. 31. Each weekday and Saturday, doors open at 8:30 a.m. and close at 6 p.m., but no center will operate on Sunday, Oct. 25.
Any registered voter may go to any early voting center in the county where they are registered. Voters show a photo ID and cast a ballot on the same voting system used at precincts on Election Day, which falls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Many counties run several sites. Aiken County, for example, lists six centers, including its county elections office on University Parkway and the Odell Weeks center on Whiskey Road, while Anderson County uses four, among them libraries in Powdersville and Pendleton. South Carolina’s election commission posts the full list of centers for every county.
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