CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – In-person absentee voting begins on Monday in Charleston County. This is the first year the county will have four absentee voting locations open up prior to the election.
The North Charleston Coliseum will open up to voters beginning Monday at 8:30 a.m. Hours will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Starting October 19th, Charleston County will then open up three other in-person absentee voting locations:
- Seacoast Mount Pleasant, Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Seacoast West Ashley, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- and the Charleston County Library downtown branch, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
All the above locations will also open to voters on Saturday, October 24th, and Saturday, October 31st from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We’ve always done absentee in person because somebody may be here right now obviously, but not here on election day,” said Director of Elections for Charleston County, Joe Debney. “And so, we allow people to do it via the mail OR they can come into a location and vote on a voting machine.”
You do not need to register to vote absentee in-person. That’s only if you plan to vote absentee by mail. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is October 24th.
In order to vote absentee in person, you’ll need one of five forms of identification:
- A South Carolina Driver’s License
- A South Carolina picture I.D.
- A South Carolina Voter Registration card with your photo on it
- A U.S. Military I.D.
- or a U.S. Passport
When you head to an absentee voting location, you fill out an absentee application and then you vote.
“The absentee application process and all that, you don’t have to bring anything else. That’s going to happen right when you come inside,” Debney said. “We will check you in. You’ll sign an application. You’ll go to the machine, you’ll get to vote, you’ll get an ‘I Voted’ sticker.”
If you still haven’t registered to vote, you must have your application postmarked no later than Monday, October 5th in order to get registered.
Monday is also the first day for in-person absentee voting in Berkeley County. For more information for Berkeley County residents, click here.
In person absentee voting also begins on Monday for registered voters in St. George whereas in-person absentee voting won’t begin in Dorchester County as a whole until October 19th.
For more information on locations for in-person absentee voting in Dorchester County, click here.
