Absentee voting starts soon in SC. Here’s when, how it works and if you’re eligible to do it

The November election is approaching and in less than a month South Carolina voters will cast their ballots in polls around the state.

For this year’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5., voters can cast their ballots on Election Day at their precinct’s polling place from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. — or after, as long as they’re in line by 7:00 p.m.

Voters can also vote before Election Day at any early voting center in their county between 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. from Monday, Oct. 21 through Saturday, Nov. 2, excluding Sunday, Oct. 27.

But some South Carolina voters also have the option to vote absentee. Eligible voters include:

• People over the age of 65

• People with physical disabilities

• Members of the US Armed Forces and Merchant Marines, their spouses and dependents that resides with them

• People with employment obligations which prevent them from voting during early voting and Election Day hours

• People attending a sick or physically disabled person which prevents them from voting during early voting and Election Day hours

• People in jail or a pretrial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial during early voting and Election Day

• People who will be absent from their county of residence during early voting and Election Day

There’s also a special exception for people admitted as emergency patients to a hospital in the four-day period leading up to or on Election Day. In these cases, voters don’t follow the established protocols or deadlines for absentee voting. Instead, the emergency patient can have an immediate family member apply for and deliver a ballot to them.

Requesting an application

In all other cases, voters must first request an application for an absentee ballot to their county’s Voter Registration Office to vote absentee. You can find your county’s phone number and location here.

Less than a month from Election Day, a representative for the South Carolina Elections Committee didn’t recommend sending a request for an application by mail. However, you can still make a request by phone or in person.

In-person requests can also be made on behalf of the voter by an immediate relative or an authorized representative. Eligible immediate family members must be registered to vote and can be a:

• Spouse

• Parent

• Child

• Sibling

• Grandparent

• Grandchild

• Mother or father-in-law

• Brother or sister-in-law

• Son or daughter-in-law

An authorized representative must also be registered to vote and needs permission to act on behalf of a voter who can’t go to the polls because they’re confined by an illness or disability, or unable to vote in-person because of a physical handicap.

To act on behalf of the voter, the representative will need to fill out an authorized representative form. In general, a candidate, campaign staff member or campaign volunteer can’t serve as an authorized representative, unless they are an immediate family member of the voter.

Once you’ve submitted a request, you can track it online here or call your county’s Voter Registration Office.

Submitting an application

Once you have your absentee voting application, it must be filled out and submitted by mail or in person to your county’s Voter Registration Office by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 25. If you send the application through the United States Postal Service, make sure you leave plenty of time for it to arrive by the deadline.

One of the authorized representatives or qualified immediate family members listed above can also deliver your application to the office in your place.

Submitting an absentee ballot

After you receive and complete your absentee ballot, it can be returned in person or by mail. Unlike absentee voting applications, ballots can be submitted to your county’s Voter Registration Office or an early voting center. No matter how a ballot is returned, it cannot be counted if the office or center receives the ballot after 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5.

If you want to mail your ballot in, you’ll need to have another person witness you sign a voter’s oath. You won’t need a notary for this step, anyone over the age of 18 can act as a witness.

To ensure that your vote is counted, the South Carolina Election Commission says ballots should be sent no later than one week prior to Election Day. For November’s election, that means you should mail your ballot by Tuesday, Oct. 29.

For in-person ballot submissions, a qualified immediate family member or authorized representative can return an absentee voter’s ballot on their behalf. No matter who returns the ballot, the person must present one of the following acceptable forms of photo ID:

• US driver’s license

• Passport

• Military identification containing a photograph issued by the federal government

• South Carolina voter registration card containing a photograph of the voter

• Another form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or its equivalent by a US state