Board of Voter Registration & Elections

Answer: Yes.

Beginning on January 1st of each year, you can request an application for an absentee ballot for one or all the elections in that calendar year. You can request an absentee ballot by phone, in person, or via mail.

By Phone: Call our office at (843) 744-8683. We are open Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM.

In Person: Visit our office at 4340 Corporate Road, North Charleston, SC 29405, Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM.

By Mail: Send us a letter that includes your name, date of birth, last four of your Social Security number, and the elections for which you are requesting an absentee ballot application.

Answer: The last day to request an absentee ballot application is 11 days before Election Day.

For the 2022 General Election, the last day to request an absentee ballot application is Friday, October 28.

Answer: Due to a recent decision from the South Carolina Election Commission, we cannot accept requests for absentee ballot applications via email.

Answer: No.

All absentee ballots will be sent approximately 30 days before the day of the election.

Answer: Absentee ballots are sent out 30 days prior to the day of the Election.

If an application is received after, ballots are sent out daily.

Answer: Yes, if they qualify as an immediate family member or authorized representative.

Immediate family members are spouses, parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law. Authorized representatives must be dropping off a ballot for a voter who cannot drop of their ballot due to a physical disability or illness.

Before asking someone to drop off your ballot, make sure to review the following:

• Immediate family members or authorized representatives can only return ballots on behalf of another voter in person. In-Person: Visit our office at 4340 Corporate Road, North Charleston, SC 29405, Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM OR visit one of our Early Voting Centers.
• Both the voter and the immediate family member/authorized representative must fill out the Authorized Returnee Form.
• The returnee must present one of the following types of photo ID when returning the ballot:
  • Driver's license issued by a state within the United States
  • Another form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or its equivalent by a state within the United States
  • Passport
  • Military identification containing a photograph issued by the federal government
  • South Carolina voter registration card containing a photograph of the voter.
• Immediate family members and authorized representatives may only return five (5) absentee ballots in addition to their own.

Answer: Yes.

Beginning on January 1st of each year, you can request an application for an absentee ballot for one or all the elections in that calendar year. You can request an absentee ballot by phone, in person, or via mail.

Before you have someone request a ballot on your behalf, make sure review the following:

• Authorized representatives can only request absentee ballot applications in person or by mail. Immediate family members can request by phone, in person, or mail. By Phone: Call our office at (843) 744-8683. We are open Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM (Immediate family members only). In-Person: Visit our office at 4340 Corporate Road, North Charleston, SC 29405, Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM. By Mail: Send us a letter that includes the voter’s name, date of birth, last four of their Social Security number, and the elections for which they are requesting an absentee ballot application.
• Authorized representatives must provide a completed Authorized Representative Form.
• Authorized representatives may only request five (5) absentee ballot applications in addition to their own.

Answer: No.

Absentee ballots will be sent to the residential or mailing address listed on your application.

Answer: You can return your absentee ballot by mail or in person.

By Mail: You can return your ballot by mail through the United States Postal Service. Drop your ballot off at your closest USPS Post Office or USPS mailbox—no postage required!

To find your closest USPS location, you can use the USPS Locator Tool.

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In Person: You can also return your ballot in person by dropping it off at our office or an Early Voting Center.

The Charleston County Board of Elections is open Monday through Friday from 8:30AM to 5:00PM. We are located at 4340 Corporate Road, North Charleston, SC 29405.

For information on Early Voting Center dates, hours, and locations, visit our Early Voting page.

Answer: You can track your mailed absentee ballot through the State Election Commission's webpage.

Please make sure you enter the address EXACTLY like what is on your envelope addressed to you.

Tracking your ballot only applies to absentee by mail. If you have voted in person, you cannot track your ballot. Tracking is based on USPS scans.

Answer: Yes, if you are a member of that person’s immediate family or acting as an authorized representative.

Immediate family members are spouses, parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, grandchildren, mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, and daughters-in-law. Authorized representatives must be dropping off a ballot for a voter who cannot drop of their ballot due to a physical disability or illness.

Before agreeing to drop off a ballot for someone else, make sure to review the following:

• Immediate family members or authorized representatives can only return ballots on behalf of another voter in person. In-Person: Visit our office at 4340 Corporate Road, North Charleston, SC 29405, Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 5:00PM OR visit one of our Early Voting Centers.
• Both the voter and the immediate family member/authorized representative must fill out the Authorized Returnee Form.
• The returnee must present one of the following types of photo ID when returning the ballot:
  • Driver's license issued by a state within the United States
  • Another form of identification containing a photograph issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or its equivalent by a state within the United States
  • Passport
  • Military identification containing a photograph issued by the federal government
  • South Carolina voter registration card containing a photograph of the voter.
• Immediate family members and authorized representatives may only return five (5) absentee ballots in addition to their own.

Answer: Yes.

You can sign up for notifications of your ballot as it travels through the mail stream. After entering your information to track your ballot on the State Election Commission's webpage, select the checkbox to be notified.

Once your ballot has been received by our office, you will receive a notification indicating your ballot has been "accepted."

Answer: A detailed explanation and graphic can be viewed here: Life Cycle of a Mailed Absentee Ballot.

Once a voter receives the notification that their ballot has been accepted, the ballot is securely stored until we can start opening absentee ballots.

Answer: No.

All eligible voters can vote early, no excuse required.

Answer: Yes.

We offer curbside voting at all our Early Voting Centers.

Answer: For the 2025 General Election, early voting will be available Monday, October 24, through Saturday, October 29, and Monday, October 31, through Saturday, November 5.

Early Voting Centers are not open on Sundays or legal holidays.

Answer: No, only Early Voting Centers will offer early voting.

Please visit our Early Voting page for more information regarding locations, dates, and times for our Early Voting Centers.

Answer: When you request an absentee ballot, you are deciding how you will vote in an election.

If you have requested an absentee ballot and wish to vote at an Early Voting Center or on Election Day, you will be required to vote via a provisional ballot. The provisional ballot will count unless we receive your voted absentee ballot.

Attempting to vote twice is a felony. We will report anyone suspected of attempting to vote twice to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Answer: Yes.

If you are a Charleston County voter, you can vote at any Early Voting Center regardless of your residence.

Answer: Yes, but there are restrictions.

Inside the polling place: No campaigning is allowed. Candidates may be inside the polling place and talk to voters if they are not campaigning, intimidating voters, or interfering with the election process.

Within 500 feet of an entrance to a polling place: Candidates and campaign staff may campaign if they are not intimidating voters or interfering with the election process. However, no campaign literature, signs, or posters are allowed. Candidates are allowed to wear a badge no larger than 4.25" x 4.25" featuring only the candidate's name and office sought. Candidates must remove their badge upon entering a polling place.

Answer: False.

Once a voter has returned an absentee application, they are now an absentee voter and are designated as such, regardless of whether they turned in their absentee ballot. A designated absentee voter will be flagged on Election Day at the polling location. Our poll managers are trained on the procedures for challenging this type of voter.

Once the challenge is made, our office investigates the provisional ballot and sends information to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Answer: No.

The voting unit is never connected to the Internet. Additionally, the voting units are not connected to each other. Each is a standalone, self-contained unit.

Answer: This is our goal:

Serve our Charleston County community in a way that builds trust in government by conducting elections fairly, transparently, and in a manner that reflects the will of our citizens.

We believe that communication is key when conducting elections. We want you to be a part of that process. The best way to learn about what we do is to work with us during an election. Our office will continue to build trust by showing you how we conduct elections.

Answer: The State Election Commission has provided this answer:

Our Top Priority

The mission of our office is to ensure every eligible citizen has the opportunity to register to vote, participate in fair and impartial elections, and have the assurance that their votes will count. Fundamental to this mission is ensuring the security and integrity of elections in South Carolina. Elections face numerous threats from a wide variety of actors including nation states, individuals and organizations – all with various motives. We recognize these threats, and we want voters to know we have made it our top priority to take all reasonable measures to improve and protect the security and resilience of our state’s election infrastructure.

Our Security Team

To address these threats against critical infrastructure, the SEC has developed an unprecedented security partnership of state, federal and private cybersecurity professionals as well as state and federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides a multitude of resources and services including cyber hygiene scanning, risk and vulnerability assessments, and security training. DHS also provides communication and collaboration through information sharing, alerts, in-person support from cybersecurity and physical security advisors, and incident response services.

The S.C. Department of Administration, Division of Technology houses and secures the state’s voter registration system. The Division of Technology manages, monitors, and performs vulnerability scans for the statewide voter registration system and agency networks.

We have also partnered with a private cybersecurity firm to provide risk and vulnerability assessment, management and remediation, as well as advice on strengthening our security posture.

In addition, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Election Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EI-ISAC) provide information sharing and incident prevention and response support.

Our Approach

We are taking numerous actions that include installing and reconfiguring equipment and software, revising policies and procedures, and improving and expanding training and awareness initiatives. These actions are designed to ensure a strong and resilient election infrastructure that will continue to serve citizens in the face of any adversity.

Network Based Security – Networks are protected against threats using various tools and concepts including firewalls, intrusion prevention and detection systems, network sensors, 24/7 monitoring, data encryption, incident reporting mechanisms, software application patch management, two-factor user authentication, user password strength requirements, and user password expiration.

Risk and Vulnerability Assessments – Cyber and physical security assessments and penetration tests are performed to identify any vulnerabilities. All vulnerabilities, regardless of severity, are addressed immediately.

Training and Education – We work to establish a strong security culture by training election officials to follow security policies and procedures and to recognize cyber threats and attack methods including identifying phishing emails and other social engineering attacks. Users are required to complete cyber security training before being granted access to systems and on an ongoing basis to maintain access. The SEC conducts field audits to ensure election officials are following security policies and procedures.

Voting System Security – Before being used in a South Carolina election, the voting system was tested and certified by a testing laboratory approved by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and was tested by the SEC to ensure the system met the requirements of state law. Logic and accuracy tests are performed before every election to ensure the system is tallying votes correctly. Ballot-marking devices, scanners and computers used to tabulate results are never connected to the internet. Voting system security plans and procedures are in place to insulate the system from unauthorized access including secure storage, access logs, data encryption, and data transfer through secure endpoints. Election results are tallied and reported publicly at the precinct-level, then at the county and state levels providing multiple checkpoints in the process. Post-election audits are conducted prior to certification of an election.

Securing Future Elections

Security is a never-ending process. We remain vigilant as the election environment changes and new threats emerge. We must rise to meet those threats by establishing new layers of security to further build the resilience of our state’s election infrastructure.

Considering the significant efforts being made to secure our elections, we want you to go to the polls and vote with confidence knowing your vote matters, and your vote will count. Our democracy depends on it.

We believe that communication is key when conducting elections. We want you to be a part of that process. The best way to learn about what we do is to work with us during an election. Our office will continue to build trust by showing you how we conduct elections.

Once the challenge is made, our office investigates the provisional ballot and sends information to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Answer: To get your name on the ballot, you must file a statement of intention of candidacy or petition, depending on the office.

Answer: Filing methods will vary based on the type of office sought.

Generally, candidates who are seeking a political party's nomination to run in a general or special election, or those who are filing for a nonpartisan office, will use a Statement of Intention of Candidacy.

For candidates looking to be nominated by petition, they must garner the valid signatures of at least 5% of the active, registered voters in the area the office represents. Some offices may have more specific filing requirements. Additional information can be found at SCVotes.gov | Candidates: South Carolina Election Commission.

Answer: Yes, under certain circumstances.

Per SC State Law Section 7-13-325, use of candidate's given name, derivative of, or nickname on ballot:

The name of a candidate authorized by law to appear on a ballot in a general, special, or primary election in this State for any office may be one of the following or a combination of them:

1. the candidate's given name;
2. a derivative of the candidate's given name properly acquired under the common law and used in good faith for honest purposes; or
3. a nickname which bears no relation to the candidate's given name but which is used in good faith for honest purposes and does not exceed fifteen letters on the ballot.

A candidate wanting to use a derivative name or a nickname, as permitted by items (2) and (3), respectively, of this section, shall notify the authority responsible by law for conducting the election, in writing, before a deadline for receiving or certifying candidates' names for inclusion on the ballot, the name he wishes to have appear and shall present evidence required by the authority conducting the election that the name indicated is his derivative name or nickname.

Answer: No.

Per SC State Law Section 7-13-325, you must either use your given name, a derivative name, or nickname. The derivative name or nickname may not imply professional or social status, an office, or military rank.

Answer: Visit the South Carolina State Election Commission at SCVotes.SC.gov | Candidate Tracking System.

Answer: To withdraw, you must:

1. Submit a signed and dated statement that specifies the office that was sought and the election the candidate had been participating in. The statement must clearly indicate that the candidate would like to withdraw.
2. Submit the statement to the proper authority conducting the election. Statements of withdrawal for federal, statewide, and multi-county offices must be submitted to the State Election Commission. The Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections accepts statements of withdrawal for countywide and less-than-countywide offices, excluding State Senate and State House of Representatives seats. A copy of a withdrawal statement that was submitted to a political party and shared to our office will be accepted.