Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant took 26,570 early ballots, nearly 3 in 10 cast in Charleston County, which passed its 2022 total. Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Seacoast Church on Long Point Road was the busiest early voting center in Charleston County this fall. Voters cast 26,570 ballots there in the first 11 days of early voting. That is nearly 3 in 10 of the county’s early ballots. Greater Macedonia AME Church in Charleston was next, with 17,368.
Countywide, 89,244 people voted early from Monday, Oct. 19, through Friday, Oct. 30. That is already more than the 66,288 who voted early over the whole of the 2022 midterm election.
The figures come from the South Carolina Election Commission’s early voting turnout report, dated Saturday, Oct. 31. Saturday was the last day of early voting, so the final totals will be higher.
Anyone who has not voted has one day left: Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Where Charleston County voted early
Charleston County ran seven early voting centers this year. Any registered voter in the county could use any of them. The state report shows:
| Early voting center | Ballots, Oct. 19-30 |
|---|---|
| Seacoast Church, Mount Pleasant | 26,570 |
| Greater Macedonia AME Church, Charleston | 17,368 |
| Charleston County elections office, North Charleston | 13,057 |
| Baxter-Patrick James Island Library | 12,919 |
| St. John’s Episcopal Church, Johns Island | 9,145 |
| Morris Brown AME Church, Charleston | 5,933 |
| St. Paul’s Hollywood Library | 4,252 |
| Total | 89,244 |
The busiest day at Seacoast Church was Friday, Oct. 30, with 2,906 ballots. The quietest was Saturday, Oct. 24, with 1,538. Every other weekday it took between 2,277 and 2,632.
Only Greenville County cast more early ballots than Charleston County in the same 11 days: 94,191 against 89,244. Statewide, 948,592 people voted early.
About half again on 2022
Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant was also an early voting center in the 2022 general election. It took 17,637 ballots in the first 11 days that year, according to the commission’s 2022 early voting report, and 19,877 over the whole period. This year’s 11 days were up about 51%.
The county as a whole rose by a similar share. It cast 58,634 early ballots in the first 11 days of 2022, against 89,244 this year. The county ran eight centers in 2022 and seven this year, so the two lists of sites are not the same.
Charleston County had 278,092 registered voters on Oct. 1, the commission’s registration report shows. That means about 32% of them had voted early by Friday.
What is on the ballot
Along with federal, state and county races, every Charleston County voter will see the 2026 Transportation Sales Tax referendum. If approved, it would continue the existing half-penny sales tax from 2004. The county says it would raise about $4.25 billion over 25 years for roads, public transit and greenspace, according to its referendum announcement. The project list is at CharlestonTransportation.com.
Your own sample ballot, with every race and question for your address, is on MyscVOTES.
What it means for you
If you have not voted yet:
- Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Anyone in line at 7 p.m. can still vote.
- Vote at your own polling place. Seacoast Church and the other early voting centers are now closed for early voting. Find your polling place on MyscVOTES.
- Bring a photo ID: a South Carolina driver’s license or DMV ID card, a voter registration card with a photo, a federal military ID or a U.S. passport.
- Absentee ballots must reach the elections office by 7 p.m. Tuesday. It is too late to rely on the mail. Absentee ballots are not accepted at polling places.
- Charleston County School District schools are closed Tuesday.
- Results appear after 7 p.m. on the state’s election results page. They are unofficial until certified.
The Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections is at 843-744-8683. Our Mount Pleasant voting guide has the ID list, absentee rules and phone numbers, and our road construction guide covers the projects the current sales tax helps fund.
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