The South Carolina state seal is seen in a state office in Columbia, S.C. in March of 2026. (Photo by Travis Bell/STATEHOUSE CAROLINA/Special to the SC Daily Gazette)
COLUMBIA — For South Carolinians who want to vote ahead of the June 23 primary runoffs, early voting is open for two days next week.
Polling locations across the state will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. next Wednesday and Thursday, according to the state elections office. To find a location in your county, go online to the state Election Commission’s website.
While state law calls for “Wednesday through Friday” voting before a runoff, June 19 is the Juneteenth federal holiday. That’s not a state-recognized holiday. But the same law bans opening early voting centers “on legal holidays.”
Republicans have three statewide races on runoff ballots: governor, attorney general and commissioner of agriculture.
Democrats have no statewide runoffs. But anyone who voted in the June 9 Democratic primary cannot vote in the Republican runoff.
That’s because state law bans crossover voting between party primaries and runoffs. Voters don’t register by party in South Carolina, but they must stick with a party during the primary cycle.
Registered voters who didn’t vote at all in the primary can vote in either party’s runoff.
Only 25% of South Carolina’s 3.4 million registered voters cast a ballot in the primary.
Absentee voters must return ballots by mail or in person to county elections offices before polls close at 7 p.m. June 23.
Because of the short time frame between the primary and runoff, the state does not have time to reprint ballots. Instead, election officials mark out any candidates who did not make the runoff, as well as offices for which there is no runoff. Election officials will not count any votes cast for candidates that are marked through, according to the Election Commission.
Overseas and military voters already turned in a second ballot, on which they ranked candidates in case of a runoff.
In the race to replace Gov. Henry McMaster, Republicans will pick between Lt. Gov. Pam Evette and Attorney General Alan Wilson.
The Republican attorney general’s race features state Sen. Stephen Goldfinch, of Murrells Inlet, and 8th Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo, of Greenwood.
Vying for the GOP nomination to be the state’s next agriculture commissioner are Dany Ford II, an Upstate cattle rancher and son of legendary Clemson University football coach Danny Ford, and Cody Simpson, former agricultural adviser to Gov. Henry McMaster and Trump administration appointee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency.
In the coastal 1st Congressional District, there are runoffs for both parties’ nominees.
On the Republican ballot are Charleston County Councilwoman Jenny Costa Honeycutt, an attorney, and state Rep. Mark Smith, who owns a funeral home on Daniel Island.
The two Democrats are retired-Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore and Mac Deford, a Coast Guard veteran and Charleston-area attorney.
And Democrats in the 2nd Congressional District still need to pick their nominee to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. The district covers includes all of Lexington, Aiken and Barnwell counties, as well as parts of Richland and Orangeburg counties.
They will choose between David Robinson II, a disabled Army veteran, and Zyon Khalifa, who recently graduated from law school after serving four years in the Air Force.
There are also three Republican Statehouse races still up for grabs.
Incumbent state Rep. Don Chapman is up against Sherry Hodges, an active member of the Anderson County Republican party who led efforts against a proposed sales tax to pay for roads and bridges in the county, for the House district covering the county’s northwest corner.
Hunter Hackett, a maintenance worker with Michelin Tire in Lexington County, and former Lexington County Councilman Scott Whetstone face off for the GOP nomination to represent the mostly rural Lexington County House seat held by state Rep. Ryan McCabe. The Lexington Republican decided not to seek a fourth term.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.
Republicans in the runoff to replace Smith, who is running for Congress, features Berkeley County Councilman Jarrod Brooks and Kristy Gore, a realtor and retired law enforcement officer living in Hanahan.
One Statehouse race, the GOP primary for the House district that covers the area of Spartanburg County between Greer and Spartanburg, is up for an automatic recount. With a margin of .98% — less than 1% — a recount is triggered under state law.
The recount will take place Friday at 3 p.m., according to the state Election Commission.
If the count holds, incumbent state Rep. Rob Harris will have narrowly beat out Lyman Town Council member and repeat primary challenger Adam Crisp for the nomination. The last time Harris and Crisp faced off, in 2024, Harris won by nearly 17 percentage points.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Courtesy of South Carolina Daily Gazette
