South Carolina early voting hits record as 564,000 cast ballots

More than half a million South Carolinians have turned out to cast ballots in the first week of early voting, surpassing the number of people who voted early during the entire 2022 midterm election.

Early voting for the 2026 midterm elections began on Oct. 19, giving voters an opportunity to cast ballots before election day. Nearly 564,000 people had voted early as of 3 p.m. on Oct. 26, according to the South Carolina State Election Commission .

Local and state political party leaders have been urging voters to cast their ballots early this year.

More: Greenville Democrats, Republicans make big push to turn out voters

By comparison, about 562,000 people voted during the entire early voting period in 2022, the most recent midterm election. About 239,000 of those ballots were cast during the first week of early voting, according to the election commission.

Voters will decide several key races in the Nov. 3 election, including every seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and South Carolina House of Representatives. One U.S. Senate seat and the governor's office are also on the ballot.

Voters still have several days to cast their ballots early. Early voting ends Saturday, Oct. 31, and voting centers are open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Greenville County early voting centers

• McAlister Square, 225 S. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville

• Mt. Pleasant Community Center, 710 S. Fairfield Road, Greenville

• Praise Cathedral family life center, 3375 Brushy Creek Road., Greer

• Cedar Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 206 Moore St., Simpsonville

• Greenville Tech NW Campus, 8109 Whitehorse Road, Greenville

• City of Greenville Public Works, 475 Fairforest Way, Greenville

• Greenville County Library Five Forks Branch, 104 Sunnydale Drive, Simpsonville

Spartanburg County early voting centers

• Spartanburg County Voter Registration and Elections Office, 366 N Church St., Spartanburg

• Boiling Springs Library, 871 Double Bridge Road, Boiling Springs

• Cowpens Library, 181 School St., Cowpens

• Woodruff Library, 270 E Hayne St., Woodruff

• Cyrill-Westside Library, 525 Oak Grove Road, Spartanburg

• Middle Tyger Library, 170 Groce Road, Lyman

Anderson County early voting centers

• Anderson County Voter Registration and Elections Office, 301 N. Main St., Anderson

• Powdersville Library, 4 Civic Court, Powdersville

• Pendleton Branch Library, 650 S. Mechanic St., Pendleton

• Watkins Community Center, 204 S. Main St., Honea Path

Bella Carpentier covers the South Carolina legislature, state, and Greenville County politics. Contact her at bcarpentier@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina early voting hits record as 564,000 cast ballots