Voter Registration and Elections

Registration

In order to vote in South Carolina, a voter must be registered. Registration is open year round.  However, a registered voter cannot vote in any election until 30 days after registering.  The qualifications to register are:

1.      A United States citizen

2.      At least 18 years old on the Election Day in which one plans to vote.

3.      A resident of the state, county and precinct in which one wishes to vote. (There is no durational residency requirement in South Carolina.)

4.      Not convicted of a felony or offense against the election law.

5.      Not under a court order declaring one mentally incompetent.

Registration in South Carolina is not by political party.  An elector may vote in the primary of either party but not in both.

Persons may register at the following locations:

1.      Department of Motor Vehicles, Sheridan Park, Bluffton, when applying for a driver’s license.

2.      Town Hall of Hilton Head Island, One Town Center Court.

3.      Beaufort County Board of Registration, Arthur Horne Building, Ribaut Road, Beaufort.

4.      County Annex on Hilton Head Island, 539 William Hilton Parkway.

5.      Various places on Hilton Head Island during the voter registration drives offered by the League of Women Voters and other organizations.  Locations of these drives are listed in the local newspapers.

6.      A person may choose to register by mail by requesting a registration form from the Beaufort County Board of Registratioin, P.O. Box 1228, Beaufort, SC 29901

In order to maintain registration, one must notify the Board of Registration of a name and/or address change.  Should a change of address occur less than 30 days prior to an election, an elector may vote at the old precinct for that election only.

Political Forums

Prior to elections, the League of Women Voters holds candidate forums as well as forums presenting both sides of an issue.  These are open to the public and are announced in the newspaper.

Elections

Voters must identify themselves on Election Day by showing one of the following, a voter registration certificate, a S.C. driver’s license, or an I.D. card issued at the Motor Vehicle Department, Sheridan Park, Bluffton.

Qualified voters in the Town of Hilton Head Island may vote at four levels.

1.      Town: Non-partisan elections for Town Council members and a mayor are held in odd-numbered years for four year staggered terms of office.  There are six wards in the town. Voters elect one council member from the ward in which they live, and a mayor at-large.

2.   County: Partisan elections for county council members and other county officers are held in even numbered years for four year staggered terms of office.  Voters on Hilton Head Island elect one council member from the district in which they live.  There are eleven districts in the county, three of which are on the island.  Voters on the island also elect one school board member from each of the three Districts. School board elections are non-partisan.

2.      State: Partisan elections are for a four-year term for one senator from the State Senate district #46 and one representative for a two-year term from House district #123.

3.      National: Partisan elections are held every four years following a primary.  Two Senators are elected from South Carolina and one representative from the Second Congressional District of South Carolina.

Absentee Ballot

Application for an absentee ballot may be made at Hilton Head Town Hall or at the Beaufort County Board of Registration by the voter or a member of the voter’s immediate family.  Applications should be returned to the town or county office by 10 days before an election in order to receive a ballot in time for the election.  Should an absentee ballot holder prefer to vote in person, the town or county office must be notified of this change by 5 p.m. the day before election.

Persons age 65 or older may choose to vote by absentee ballot.  They may either make an application for a ballot to be mailed to them or they may appear in person at the Hilton Head Town Hall or the Beaufort County Board of Elections within 30 days before election day and cast a ballot at that time.