2023 South Carolina Code of Laws › Title 7 - Elections › Chapter 15 - Absentee Registration And Voting › Section 7-15-330. Time of application for absentee ballot; application in person.

(A) To vote by absentee ballot:
(1) a qualified elector or a member of his immediate family, as defined in Section 7-15-310(8), must request an application to vote by absentee ballot in person, by telephone, or by mail from the county board of voter registration and elections, or at an extension office of the county board of voter registration and elections as established by the county governing body, for the county of the voter's residence; or
(2) A person requesting an application for a qualified elector as the qualified elector's authorized representative must request an application to vote by absentee ballot in person or by mail only and must himself be a registered voter and must sign an oath to the effect that he fits the statutory definition of an authorized representative. The signed oath must be kept on file with the county board of voter registration and elections until the end of the calendar year or until all contests concerning a particular election have been finally determined, whichever is later. A candidate, a member of a candidate's paid campaign staff, or a campaign volunteer, is not allowed to request applications for absentee voting for any person designated in this section unless the person is a member of the immediate family.
(B)(1) A request for an application to vote by absentee ballot may be made anytime during the calendar year in which the election in which the qualified elector desires to be permitted to vote by absentee ballot is being held.
(2) A person who makes a request for an application to vote by absentee ballot, either for himself or on behalf of another elector as permitted by this section, must provide the following:
(a) for the elector for whom the request is being made, the elector's:
(i) name;
(ii) date of birth; and
(iii) last four digits of his social security number; and
(b) if someone is making a request on behalf of an elector, the requestor's:
(i) name;
(ii) address;
(iii) date of birth; and
(iv) relation to the elector, as required by subsection (A).
(3) The county board of voter registration and elections must verify the information required in this section for the elector for whom the absentee ballot is being requested, and must record the information provided for the individual who makes a request on behalf of an elector before providing an absentee ballot application.
(4) A person must not request absentee applications for more than five qualified electors per election, in addition to himself.
(C) Completed applications must be returned in person, by either the elector, a member of the elector's immediate family, or the elector's authorized representative, or by mail, by the elector, to the county board of voter registration and elections no later than 5:00 p.m. on the eleventh day before the day of the election to vote by absentee ballot.
(D) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (C), if an elector is admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election, then a member of the elector's immediate family may obtain an application from the board on the day of an election, complete it, receive the ballot, deliver it personally to the patient who shall vote, and personally carry the ballot back to the county board of voter registration and elections.
(E) The county board of voter registration and elections shall serially number each absentee ballot application form and keep a record book in which must be recorded the number of the form, the name, home address, and absentee mailing address of the person for whom the absentee ballot application form is requested; the name, address, voter registration number, and relationship of the person requesting the form, if other than the applicant; the date upon which the form is requested; the date upon which the form is issued; and the date and method upon which the absentee ballot is returned. This information becomes a public record at 9:00 a.m. on the day immediately preceding the election, except that forms issued for emergency hospital patients must be made public by 9:00 a.m. on the day following an election.
(F) A person who violates the provisions of this section is subject to the penalties provided in Section 7-25-170.
HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 23-443; 1953 (48) 423; 1960 (51) 1598; 1971 (57) 85; 1975 (59) 815; 1982 Act No. 280, Section 1, eff February 24, 1982; 1984 Act No. 266, Section 8, eff January 27, 1984; 1988 Act No. 422, Section 6, eff March 28, 1988; 1989 Act No. 193, Section 3, eff June 20, 1989; 2020 Act No. 133 (S.635), Section 1.E, eff May 13, 2020; 2022 Act No. 150 (S.108), Section 5, eff May 13, 2022.
Effect of Amendment
2020 Act No. 133, Section 1.E, in the ninth sentence, substituted "the date upon which the form is issued; and the date and method upon which the absentee ballot is returned" for "and the date upon which the form is issued".
2022 Act No. 150, Section 5, rewrote the section.