Time is running out to register to vote in November — and to make your voice heard
As election campaigns for president and down-ballot offices move into their final 44 days, Horry and Georgetown counties have steadily growing numbers of registered voters — an indicator of heightened voter interest in an election year marked by coronavirus and controversy.
The presidential campaigns of Donald Trump and Joe Biden are in the forefront of national attention, but U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is being challenged for re-election by Jaime Harrison. In addition voters will be casting ballots on seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the S.C. House and Senate, and various county councils and school boards.
Whatever voters’ interests may be, residents not already registered to vote have only days to do so if they want to participate in the Nov. 3 election. Once done, your registration is valid unless you move to a new place of residence.
To vote in the Nov. 3 election — by absentee beginning early in October or at your polling place on Nov. 3 — registration must be done by 30 days prior to the election.
South Carolina has no length of residency requirement, and voters in our state do not register by political party or preference (as they do in some states).
Register online
If you are a U.S resident who is 18 or older on or before Nov. 3, you may register at any time. Registration may be done online at www.scVOTES.gov or at the offices of several state agencies, notably the Department of Motor Vehicles.
A driver’s license or a DMV Identification is required to register online.
Other forms of photo identification, such as a passport, are accepted for registration in person at the county Voter Registration and Elections offices in Conway and Georgetown, as well as in Horry County libraries.
Chamber of Commerce offices in Horry County have application forms for registration; the completed forms and copies of the driver’s license or DMV ID must be mailed to the county office.
Sandy Martin, director of Horry County registration and elections, said new registrations have increased by approximately 5,000 since July; in all Horry County has more than 242,000 voters. Martin expects a rush of new registrations this week — especially since Sept. 22 is National Voter Registration Day.
Kristie Richardson, director of registration and elections in Georgetown County, said about 2,000 voters have been added and new registrations are steadily increasing; overall Georgetown County has more than 46,000 registered voters.
Two weeks left
The deadlines for registering are:
▪ Oct. 2 for in-person registration.
▪ Midnight Oct. 4 for online or fax registrations.
▪ An Oct. 5 postmark for mailed registrations.
Our better angels
As he took office prior to the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln pleaded for “the better angels of our nature” to prevail.
And in his book “The Soul of America,” author Jon Meacham writes about several battles “for our better angels” that have taken place since Lincoln’s time, including:
▪ The long crusade against Jim Crow.
▪ The fight for women to have the right to vote.
▪ The rise of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s.
▪ The anti-Communist witch hunts of the 1950s.
Meacham and many others, see the 2020 election as yet another battle for our better angels.
Voting is how everyday citizens engage in governance.
Registering does not require you to vote, but you must be registered in order to vote.
So if you are eligible to vote and you haven’t registered, please do so.
Where to register
▪ Voters Registration and Elections Office
Georgetown County
303 N. Hazard St.
Georgetown, S.C.
Hours | M-F, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone | (843) 545-3339
Horry County
1515 4th Ave.
Conway, S.C.
Hours | M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Phone | (843) 915-5440
▪ Drop-off boxes
Once absentee voting begins in October in Conway and three other locations, drop-off boxes for completed ballots will be inside the locations during voting hours. If you are delivering the ballots of other voters, you must complete an authorization form.
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 5:00 AM.