Early voting starts off strong in Charleston County

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – At least 300 Charleston County voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to participate in early voting.

It’s the first time South Carolina leaders have given the green light for early voting. The law was signed by Governor Henry McMaster just weeks ago.

Every registered voter in the state is eligible to cast their ballot early at their county’s designated voting site. No application or reason is needed. It’s as simple as showing up with your photo ID, signing in, and voting.

“Voters are in and out. No lines. We have adequate parking voters can expect to just come in, and check-in with their photo ID. Voting has been seamless,” said Isaac Cramer, the Executive Director for Charleston County Board of Elections and Voter Registration.

Many voters are thrilled with the opportunity to vote on their own schedule. A few told News 2 that voting on Tuesday didn’t take more than a few minutes.

“Well we’re getting ready to go out of town and yeah it’s just so convenient with everybody’s work schedules and things like that,” said William and Jan Sprott, Charleston County voters. “It’s just awesome making more time for voting.”

“Excellent. I hope they never stop it,” said Bennie Oneal Robinson, another voter. “Early voting ensures everybody has the opportunity to contribute to the election of our country.”

Cramer tells News 2 that early voting opportunities will likely increase voter turnout numbers as a whole just because of the convenience.

“The more voters that have the opportunity to vote early, they do. We saw that in 2020 when we had kind of no-excuse early voting with the pandemic and we saw huge numbers across the state where Charleston County had 75% of voters vote prior to election day which is an incredible number.”

To find your county’s polling location, click here.

Early voting is available through June 10th, excluding June 4th and 5th, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.