Early Voting Starts Monday in Charleston County

Four years ago more than 36,000 people in Charleston County voted absentee, and about half of them voted early at the county election office.

This election cycle the county is opening an in-person absentee precinct in the former SCE&G building at the intersection of Azalea Drive and Leeds Avenue in North Charleston. Election officials expect to see as many as 20,000 people take advantage of the site.

Voters need to bring their voter registration card, driver's license or photo ID card issued by the state to the polling location.

"It's the same things they'd need to bring to vote on election day," Charleston County Board of Elections and Voter Registration Executive Director Joe Debney said.

The in-person absentee precinct will be open 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning Monday Oct. 8 until Monday Nov. 5. The precinct also will be open 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. on the final two Saturdays in October (Oct. 20 and Oct. 27).

In 2008 in-person absentee voting was done at the BEVR office at 4367 Headquarters Road in North Charleston, but Debney said that office is too small to accommodate the large number of voters choosing to vote early.

"This building just doesn't have enough room," he said.

The new precinct location, which can be seen from the BEVR office, has plenty of space, Debney added, and a covered awning outside in case the line ever gets so long that people are waiting outside.

"What happened in 2008, our parking lot was full, cars were parked all up and down the road out here, they almost had to shut down the Bi-Lo shopping center across the street," Debney said. "The wait was so long."

The larger space and the fact that this year's ballot is shorter (four pages as opposed to seven pages in 2008), should help to cycle county residents through the polling location more quickly, he said.

Voters can also request a traditional paper absentee ballot that they can mail or return to the BEVR office prior to 7 p.m. on Election Day (Nov. 6). In fact as of Thursday at least 12,361 people had made that request.

Getting a paper absentee ballot is a two step process. First a voter has to officially request an application for an absentee ballot by calling 843-744-8683 or emailing absentee@charlestoncounty.org. Once the application is returned and processed the actual ballot will be mailed out to the voter. The completed ballot must be returned to the election office by 7 p.m. on election day or it will not be counted.

Debney said he expects to receive requests for about 20,000 paper ballots as well.