YORK COUNTY, S.C. — The countdown for Election Day is down to the hours. This is the first year South Carolinians were able to vote early without giving a reason why.
According to the South Carolina Election Commission, 560,622 people voted early, or about 16.5% of all registered voters. In comparison, around 100,450 voted early in the June Primary.
Early voting turnout by county: 2022 general election
- Lancaster County – 13,961 out of 69,981 (19.94%)
- York County – 26,840 out of 195,338 (13.74%)
- Chester County – 2,732 out of 20,219 (13.51%)
- Chesterfield County – 3,086 out of 26,225 (11.76%)
Source: SCVOTES.GOV
Lancaster County had the highest voter turnout in the region, with almost 20% of registered voters voting early.
Lancaster County Voter Registration Director Mary Ann Hudson said while early voting turnout was strong, she still expects to stay busy on Election Day.
"A lot of people still like to come out and vote on election days," Hudson said.
Hudson said her office used social media to spread the word about early voting, which she said is beneficial for election workers because it frees up resources on Election Day.
“We’ve just really tried to let people know that these two weeks of early voting is a wonderful opportunity to get out prior to the election, just like Election Day, so I guess we must have been successful in getting that information out," Hudson said.
Hudson's office, like others, is dealing with a shortage of poll workers. However, election officials said it shouldn't impact voters.
“We’re down a little bit in terms of the number of people helping us in the polls this year, and as a result, we’ve combined a couple of precincts," Todd Puhrmann, supervisor at the Fort Mill early voting site, said. "I don’t think it’s going to create any significant issue because more people are coming out to vote early."
Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. You have to bring your ID to vote in South Carolina and you must have registered to vote at least 30 days before the election.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
RELATED: 2022 midterm election voter guide