Voter Registration and Elections

Welcome to the Fairfield County Voter Registration and Elections Department

As of June 30, the State Election Commission’s voter education website has a new address: scVOTES.gov. The switch to the .gov domain name was made to help maintain the public’s trust in the information and services provided through the site.

Before the change, scVOTES.gov was scVOTES.org. Having the .gov extension will help voters easily recognize the site as a trusted source of information. Domain names using the .gov extension are regulated by the federal General Services Administration (GSA) meaning only verified federal, state and local governments can use a .gov address. Voters will know when they see “scVOTES.gov,” they have arrived at the official website of the S.C. State Election Commission.

The old .org domain extension will continue to exist indefinitely, and visitors will be automatically redirected to the new scVOTES.gov address. The SEC encourages anyone using an scVOTES.org link on their website or other materials to update those links to scVOTES.gov.

A copy of the press release on scVOTES.gov can be found here: https://www.scvotes.gov/introducing-scvotesgov

The mission of the Fairfield County Board of Voter Registration and Elections is to ensure every eligible citizen has the opportunity to register to vote, participate in fair and impartial elections, and have the assurance that their votes will count.

AS A REMINDER AND IN EFFORTS TO MINIMIZE EXPOSURE TO COVID-19 (Coronavirus):

The Fairfield County Voter Registration and Elections Office will remain open and conduct business as usual. In a nationwide effort to minimize possible exposure to the Coronavirus, we are reminding voters of additional resources available.

Voter registration, name and address changes, as well as requests for absentee ballot applications for the upcoming Town of Ridgeway, City of Jenkinsville, June Primary and November General Elections can ALL BE DONE ONLINE at scvotes.org.

Phone requests for absentee applications can still be made. Contact our office at 803-635-6255. Be safe and healthy.

EVERY VOTE MATTERS! EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

Please be prepared. Update your address, update any name changes that may have occurred due to marriage or divorce, check your districts!

Educate yourself before you go to the polls.

Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Curbside voting is available for those who are not able to go inside their polling location.

ID is required for voting. You must have ONE of the following to vote:

• SC Drivers License
• SC DMV issued photo ID
• Voter registration card with photo
• Military photo ID
• US passport
• Concealed Weapon Permit (just added to list of acceptable ID’s)

Provisional ballots will be provided for any voter who does not have or has not been able to obtain one of the required photo id’s. You must have your voter registration card to vote a provisional ballot.

See the items listed below and other important information at SCVotes.org

Online Voter Registration

Check Your Voter Registration

Update Your Voter Registration

Get Your Sample Ballot

Find Your Polling Place

Get Your Absentee Application

Check Your Absentee Ballot

Check Your Provisional Ballot

Please call or come by the Voter Registration and Elections Office if you have any questions!

When voting in person, you will be asked to show one of the following Photo IDs at your polling place:

• SC Driver’s License
• SC Department of Motor Vehicles ID Card
• SC Voter Registration Card with Photo
• Federal Military ID
• US Passport

See scVotes.org for more information

When to Vote

Polling places are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Anyone in line at 7:00 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Absentee Voting

Qualified voters can vote absentee in person or by mail. Photo ID is required to vote absentee in person. Photo ID is not required to vote absentee by mail.

See SCVotes.org for more information on absentee voting.

Where to Vote

Straight Party is Optional

Whether to vote “Straight Party” is the first choice a voter must make on a General Election ballot. Voting straight party is optional. Each political party that has nominated a candidate appearing on the voter’s ballot is represented in the straight party selection area.

Straight Party Voting on Voting Machines

If a party is selected under straight party, every candidate of that party is automatically selected throughout the ballot. As the voter advances through the ballot, the voter has the option of changing his vote for any particular office to a candidate of another party, a petition candidate, or a write-in candidate (also known as “crossover voting”). To change your vote for any particular office, simply touch the candidate of choice for that office, and the candidate previously selected will be automatically deselected.

Straight Party Voting on Optical Scan (Paper) Ballots

If the oval beside a party is shaded in under straight party, every candidate of that party will automatically receive a vote when that ballot is scanned unless it is overridden by a “crossover vote.” After shading in the straight party, a voter can override his straight party selection for a particular office by shading in the oval beside a candidate for that office.

Straight Party Doesn’t Cover Everything

Voters should be aware that when voting straight party, no selection is made for nonpartisan offices and questions. Also, your party may not have nominated candidates for all offices. In these cases, these contests must be voted individually. As always, voters should carefully review their choices before casting their ballot.