South Carolina: Do you need an ID to vote?
South Carolina asks for photo ID, but a voter with a reasonable impediment can sign an affidavit at the polls and still vote.
Accepted IDs are a South Carolina driver's license or DMV ID card, a photo voter registration card, a federal military ID, or a U.S. passport. A voter who forgot ID may vote provisionally and show ID to the county board before the election is certified, usually the Thursday or Friday after the election. A voter with a reasonable impediment to getting photo ID, or a religious objection, can sign an affidavit at the polling place, and that provisional ballot counts unless the board has grounds to believe the affidavit is false. The Election Commission asks these voters to bring their non-photo registration card; the statute itself doesn't require it.
Conditions
- Without photo ID, provisional ballot counted only if ID is shown before county certification
- Reasonable impediment or religious objection affidavit available
What the law says
When a person presents himself to vote, he shall produce a valid and current: ... If the elector cannot produce the identification as required in subsection (A), he may cast a provisional ballot that is counted only if the elector brings a valid and current photograph identification to the county board of voter registration and elections before certification of the election by the county board of canvassers. ... [T]he county board of voter registration and elections shall find that the provisional ballot is valid unless the board has grounds to believe the affidavit is false.
Sources
- S.C. Code § 7-13-710 Official · scstatehouse.gov
- SC Election Commission: Photo ID Requirements Official · scvotes.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- South Carolina State Election Commission
- Phone
- 803-734-9060
- Website
- scvotes.gov
How bordering states compare
- Georgia Photo ID requiredGeorgia requires photo ID; a voter without it casts a provisional ballot that counts only if ID is shown within three days.
- North Carolina Photo ID requestedNorth Carolina asks for photo ID, but a voter without one can sign an exception form at the polls and have the ballot counted.
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