How to vote · 2026
South Carolina
Mail voting requires an excuse
Every date below comes from the South Carolina election office and links to the page that states it. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Dates and rules
Registration, mail ballots, and early voting
Registration deadlineOctober 5, 2026Register by mail (postmarked) by Oct. 5, 2026; online and email by Oct. 4; in person by Oct. 2-4 depending on county office hours. No same-day registration.
Mail-ballot request deadlineOctober 23, 2026
Mail ballots first sentAbout October 4, 2026Mail absentee voting requires a qualifying excuse (in-person early voting is no-excuse). Absentee ballots are mailed to approved applicants from about 30 days before Election Day (Oct. 4, 2026, per SC election officials/CEIR). Applications must be received by 5 p.m. Oct. 23 (11 days out).
Return ruleMust be received by close of polls (7 p.m.) on Election Day
Early in-person votingOctober 19, 2026through October 31, 2026 · No-excuse in-person early voting Oct. 19-31, 2026 (excluding Sundays).
Official SC election site ↗Dates last verified against the official site September 1, 2026.Sources: [1] USA.gov directory of official state election offices[2] Excuse-required mail voting Oct. 4-Nov. 3, 2026[3] CEIR 2026 voter registration deadlines (June 25, 2026 dataset; per-mode deadlines and same-day registration windows)[4] NCSL Table 7: statutory rule for when absentee/mail ballots are mailed[5] NCSL Table 5: statutory absentee ballot application deadline[6] NCSL Table 11 (updated Dec. 2025): ballot receipt/postmark deadline
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The full table of mail-ballot send dates, registration deadlines, and early-voting windows for all fifty states and DC, plus the documented record of government actions on mail voting this cycle.
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