Election Day is 4 days away. How many Beaufort Co. residents have already voted?
More than a third of Beaufort County’s registered voters won’t be standing in line on Election Day — they’ve already voted.
As of noon Friday, 49,985 people had already cast their ballot absentee, accounting for 35.8% of the county’s 139,726 registered voters. That number is expected to rise during the last two days of absentee voting, with the three precincts offering an extra half-day of in-person voting Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The precincts are open Monday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Requests for an absentee ballot must be made in person or to an authorized representative by 5 p.m. Friday. All ballots, including those filled out in-person and at home, must be returned by 7 p.m. Nov. 3.
Precincts are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Data available on the South Carolina Election Commission’s website point to a likely record-breaking turnout for the general election, in part thanks to loosened requirements on who can get an absentee ballot this year. Anyone may request an absentee ballot under Gov. Henry McMaster’s state of emergency, implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2016, 79,795 Beaufort County residents turned out to vote, representing 70.4% of all those who were registered. The county has already met 62.6% of 2016’s vote totals — and it’s not even Election Day yet.
Additionally, voter registration numbers are nearly a quarter higher than they were in 2016, with all age groups seeing increases. The number of young voters registered to vote has nearly tripled since 2016.
One of those young voters will be casting his ballot with his family on Election Day.
“For me it is exciting, being your first year to be able to vote, but I’m a little nervous as well about the whole process,” said Bluffton High School senior David Chacon, 18. “I’ve gone with my parents, and stuff, and I kind of get what I’m supposed to do, when I get there, but ... I feel like there’s going to be a lot of people going out to vote.”
