South Carolina voters cast 1,043,810 ballots during the state’s 12 days of early voting, which ended Saturday, Oct. 31, according to figures from the South Carolina Election Commission.
York County voters accounted for 61,989 of those ballots, the fifth highest total among the state’s 46 counties. Lancaster County added 24,541, ranking 14th. Together, the two counties cast 86,530 early votes, about 8.3 percent of the statewide total and more than Horry County’s 85,931.
Greenville County led the state with 104,608 early votes, followed by Charleston County with 99,275, Richland County with 92,575 and Horry County. York County finished ahead of Spartanburg County at 55,380 and Lexington County at 53,062.
Statewide pace
Early voting opened Monday, Oct. 19, with 98,695 ballots cast across the state. Daily totals dipped through the first week and fell to 50,578 on Saturday, Oct. 24, the lightest day of the period. The heaviest day came Friday, Oct. 30, when 110,172 South Carolinians voted. Another 95,218 voted on the final Saturday.
York County saves its biggest days for last
York County voters showed a sharper late surge than the state as a whole. The county’s busiest day was Friday, Oct. 30, with 7,737 ballots, followed by 7,056 on the closing Saturday. Those two days produced 14,793 votes, nearly 24 percent of the county’s early total. Statewide, the final two days made up about 20 percent.
The Holiday Inn Rock Hill at Galleria Mall drew the most early voters of York County’s six sites at 13,548, including 1,625 on Friday alone. Carolinas Cornerstone followed with 11,137 and Imagine Church with 10,686.
The Fort Mill YMCA at The Complex, the site closest to Fort Mill and Tega Cay voters, recorded 10,083 ballots. Its Friday total of 1,481 nearly doubled the 768 cast there the day before. Clinton College’s library in Rock Hill logged 9,644 votes, and the Fire Training Center of York County recorded 6,891.
Indian Land leads Lancaster County
In Lancaster County, the panhandle carried the early vote. The Del Webb Library led all four county sites with 10,036 ballots, and the Indian Land Annex added 5,537. Those two sites combined for 15,573 votes, more than 63 percent of the county total.
The Lancaster County Voter Registration and Elections Office recorded 7,697 ballots, and Kershaw Second Baptist Church logged 1,271.
Unlike York County, Lancaster County’s busiest day was its first. Voters there cast 2,861 ballots on opening day, Oct. 19. The county’s second highest day came Friday, Oct. 30, with 2,535.
Election Day
Voters who did not cast an early ballot can vote Tuesday, Nov. 3, at their assigned precinct. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters can confirm their polling place and view a sample ballot at scvotes.gov.
Source: South Carolina Election Commission early voting totals report, report date Nov. 2, 2026.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
