Voting in York County

The General Election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Polls will be open from 7 am to 7 pm. Find your polling place, check yiour registration and see a sample ballot at SCVotes.gov (when available). The Primary will be Tuesday, June 9.

Early voting for the General Election will be from 8:30 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, May 25, through June 5, 2026. Closed on Saturday and Sunday. Locations have not been announced yet. You will be able to vote at any of the early voting locations in York County.

This is not a Presidential Election year, so there is no “First in the Nation” Primary date in February.

A reminder that you do not register with a political party in South Carolina. In Primaries, you do express a one-time preference when you choose which ballot to take, and if there is a runoff, you are limited to vote in that party in that runoff. After that, you are wide open again. SC Republicans are in favor of closed primaries, but no action has been taken on doing that.

And of course you are not required to vote for that party or candidate in the General Election in November.

Planning ahead for 2028? South Carolina has long been an early Primary state for the Presidential election, and in 2024 the Democratic Party decided to make it the First in the Nation Primary, technically eclipsing the New Hampshire Primary (which was still held first, but ‘ingored’, while the Iowa caucauses transitioned to a mail-in ballot with a much later deadline).

But with President Biden running for a second term, there was no serious primary challenge, so the First in the Nation status was mostly a vanity exercise, with little consequence.

2028 will be a different story, and while a few Democrats are already (as of July 2025) positioning themselves for a potential run, we are a long way from any decisions. And the DNC has not announced how they will handle the 2028 Primaries.

Note that the early SC Primary—first in the nation or a little later—is only for President. The state holds a second Primary in June for all other offices. This has been a point of confusion for voters every Presidential election cycle.

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Important election dates and deadlines:

Deadline to register to vote for the General Election is 30 days prior to the election. Effectively Friday, October 5, 2026.
Learn more about Registering to Vote here.
November 3, 2026: General Election Day
- Polls open 7 am to 7 pm. Locations TBA
Absentee By-Mail: Registered voters who cannot vote in person at an Early Voting Center or on Election Day may be eligible to vote an absentee by-mail ballot. Call 803.684.1242 or visit the Board of Voter Registration and Elections Office of York County to request an application. The deadline to return your application is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 23, 2026.
[This info is updated from our 2025 records, but has not been published by the YC Board of Elections yet] The process of examining the return-addressed envelopes containing absentee ballots will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 1, 2026 in room 3801 at the Board of Voter Registration and Elections Office of York County. The deadline to return an absentee by-mail ballot is 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
2026 Primary: June 9. Locations TBA

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Voter Information

The SCVotes.gov web site is a one-stop shop for voter information. You can

check and update your voter registration.
Get a sample ballot (when they’re ready).
Find your Polling Place and more.

VoteBlueSC is another voter information resource with a section on voting rights and a FAQ about voting in South Carolina.

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Voter Registration

Are you registered to vote?

You must be registered no less than 30 days before an election. Registration closes for the November 3, 2026 General Election on October 2, 2026 .

The SC DMV offers voter registration when you get your Driver’s License, so chances are you registered then. If you’re not sure, check here. (that’s the official State site)

Who can register?
Who can vote in SC?

You have to be a US Citizen, over 18 by election day, and a SC resident in the county and precinct in which you are registering/voting. You can’t be under a court order declaring you mentally incompetent. You can’t be in prison following a conviction. If you have been convicted of a felony or offense against the election laws, you must have served your entire sentence, including probation or parole, or have received a pardon for the conviction.

If you need to register, first you need an up-to-date SC Driver’s License or State ID. If you don’t have one, or if you’ve moved, your first stop is at the DMV. While you’re there getting or updating your Driver’s License or ID, you can also register to vote (watch those deadlines!).

If you’re all set with your Driver’s License or State ID – but you’re not registered to vote – you can register online. You can also register in person at the York County Government Center in the town of York. Here’s a list of other agencies that offer voter registration. Finally, voter registration tables are usually set up at a variety of events and rallies.

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Voting in person —
What do you need?

South Carolina has a Voter ID Law that requires a Photo ID, but does have exceptions. For most people, a current SC Drivers License or ID Card is all you need. Other accepted IDs include a SC Voter Registration Card with Photo, Federal Military ID (Includes all Department of Defense Photo IDs and Veterans Affairs Benefits Card), and a US Passport (Includes US Passport ID Card).

If you don’t have a Photo ID, but you are registered to vote, you can get a free Photo ID from your county voter registration and elections office or your local DMV office.

More details on voting and a list of exceptions from the Photo ID requirement are here in an extensive FAQ from SCVotes.

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Early Voting

General Election, Tuesday, November 3, 2026

The early voting period for this election begins on Monday, October 19, 2026 and ends on Friday, October 30, 2026. Early Voting Center(s) will be open during the early voting period from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Closed for voting on Saturdays and Sundays. Voters may cast their ballot at any of the early voting centers listed below during the stated early voting period.

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Early Voting Locations

These are the 2025 Early Voting locations. Locations for 2026 have not been announced

Carolina’s Cornerstone 1790 Gardendale Rd, Fort Mill, SC 29708
The Thread (2nd Floor) 220 White St W, Rock Hill SC, 27930
Clinton College – Library 1029 Crawford Rd, Rock Hill, SC 29730
Fire Training Center of York County 2500 McFarland Rd, York SC 29745
- Note that the York County Government Center in the town of York was not listed as an early voting location in 2025. 2026 is TBA.

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Vote by Mail
(Absentee Voting)

In South Carolina, voting by mail is still called Absentee Voting. Everyone over 65 may vote by mail. Most people younger than 65 must vote in person, but there are exceptions. The list includes things like employment, illness, travel, disabilities, Armed Forces and Merchant Marine service.

The SC Election Commission has this detailed FAQ for Absentee Voting. It should answer almost any question.

Note that there is no online application for Absentee Voting (state law). But you can download the forms to complete and mail back to your County Board of Elections.

Authorized Representative Form
Used when requesting an absentee application on behalf of a Voter.
Authorized Returnee Form
Used when returning absentee by-mail ballot on behalf of a Voter.

All requestors are limited to five requests in addition to their own per election. Voters may participate in only one party’s presidential preference primary.

The request period begins on January 1, 2026. Call 803-684-1242 or visit the Board of Voter Registration and Elections Office of York County to request an application. The deadline to return your application (not your ballot) is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 23, 2026

The FAQ says that ballots will be mailed to Absentee Voters about 30 days before the election.

You can return the ballot in person to the York County voter registration office, or you can mail it in. If you return it in person, you will need a Photo ID, same as voting in person.

Ballots returned by mail should be mailed no later than one week prior to election day to help ensure timely delivery (and if you’ve tracked mail recently, you might consider mailing it two weeks before election day). Ballots must be received by the York County voter registration office by 7:00 p.m. on election day.