--- Registration deadlines: the in-person deadline is 5pm on May 8th. The online deadline is 11:59pm on May 10th. The by mail deadline is postmark no later than May 11th.
--- Primary Sample Ballot. You can view the sample ballot for the Democratic and Republican Primaries, and you can choose to vote in either, just not both.
--- Early Voting Dates: May 26th-29th, and June 1st-5th, 8:30 AM - 5pm. No Saturday or Sunday or Federal Holiday voting
--- Runoff Early Voting Dates: June 17th-18th, 8:30 AM - 5pm. No Saturday or Sunday or Federal Holiday voting
--- Early Voting Locations:
- Darlington County Registration & Elections Annex, 135 Cashua St, Darlington, SC 29532
- Jerusalem Baptist Church, 301 S Sixth St, Hartsville, SC 29550
- Lamar Library, 103 E Main St, Lamar, SC 29069
--- Bethel Precinct voters will be moving to Thomas Hart Academy @ 852 Flinns Rd Hartsville. The Bethel UMC will no longer be used.
Absentee requests can now be made for the June Primaries & the November General Election. If you wish to vote but will be unable to do so on election day or during early voting, you will need to request an absentee-by-mail ballot by coming to our office or calling. The last day for us to mail a ballot for the June Primaries is May 29th, so the signed absentee application must be back by that date. For the Primary Runoffs the deadline is June 12th, so if you miss the deadline for the original primary and need absentee for the runoff, you likely would need to request the runoff absentee before the primary. For the November General Election the deadline is October 23rd, so the signed absentee application must be back by that date.
Candidates:
---County & lower level Offices up for Election: Probate Judge*, County Council Districts* 2, 4, 6, & 8, Soil & Water District Commission, School Board Districts 1, 3, 5, & 7, and Palmetto Fire District Commission.
---Local level State Offices up for Election: State House of Representatives Districts* 53, 54, 62, & 65.
---Statewide Offices up for Election: Governor/Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, Comptroller General, Superintendent of Education, Commissioner of Agriculture.
---Federal Offices up for Election: US Senate (1 seat), US House of Representatives District 7
---Candidate Filing: Filing for Local Partisan Offices* - Noon March 16th to Noon March 30th @ Voter Registration & Elections Office 131 Cashua St. Candidates for Statewide and Federal Offices file at the State Election Commission in Columbia. State House candidates can file at the SEC or locally. School Board candidates can file from Noon August 3rd to Noon August 17th. Commission candidates file via petition which is due by Noon July 15th. Contact us with any questions.
Other 2026 Election Dates: General Election November 3rd
View your sample ballot: Check back in September/October for General Election.
Registration Deadlines:
There is no length of residency requirement in South Carolina in order to register to vote. You can register at any time.
You must be registered at least 30 days prior to any election in order to vote in that election. Registration by mail applications must be postmarked at least 30 days prior to that particular election to be eligible.For the 2026 June Primary Elections:
---the in-person deadline is 5pm on May 8th
---the online deadline is 11:59pm on May 10th
---the by mail deadline is postmark no later than May 11th.
*If you are 17 & will be 18 on or before November 3rd, 2026, you are eligible to register anytime by the deadline & can vote in the 2026 June Primary & November Elections.
Public Testing, Audit, & Certification Hearing: June Primaries below. Check back later this year for other 2026 Dates
---Public testing of the Ballot Marking Devices for the Statewide Primaries will begin on May 1st, 2026 in the Elections & Registration Annex-135 Cashua St
---Public testing of the DS300 Scanners for the Statewide Primaries will begin @ 3pm on May 20th, 2026 in the Elections & Registration Annex-135 Cashua St
---The Hand-Count Audit of the Statewide Primaries will be @ 2pm June 10th, 2026 in the Elections & Registration Annex-135 Cashua St
---The Certification Hearing for the Statewide Primaries will be @ 10am on June 11th, 2026 in the Elections & Registration Annex-135 Cashua St
Duties of the Election and Registration Board:
A person who is registered to vote according to law shall remain permanently registered and entitled to all rights and privileges of registration unless his name is removed from the registration list for cause.
For additional information on registration, duplicate certificates, change of address, precinct locations, statistics, etc., please contact the County Voter Registration Board Office.
- Register all qualified Darlington County citizens to vote.
- Determine qualifications of all applicants and assign proper voting precincts and voting districts.
- Issues voter registration certificates.
- Maintain county voter records in conjunction with the State Election Commission.
- Provide absentee by-mail, & in-person early voting services. The elections and registration office acts as the Early Voting location for all federal, state, and local elections held in the county. Operate satellite Early Voting locations as needed.
- Validate signatures on petitions for non-partisan candidates and referenda.
- Conduct all elections in Darlington County for federal, state, county, and municipalities.
- Provide accurate information and quality assistance to the public.
Voting Precincts & Maps:
Visit www.scvotes.gov to find your voting precinct and districts, plus view your sample ballot. You can also search your address on the Darlington County GIS/Mapping to determine your precinct. To check if you are in City/town limits you can also use one of the map options on this site Darlington County, All Maps. Note: Hartsville is the only municipality that had any changes to its city council lines, and you can determine with the Hartsville Map if you city council district changed.
Photo ID is in effect in Darlington County. Please click on the link for more information. Photo ID Requirements
Qualifications for Registration:
To be eligible to register to vote in South Carolina, a person must meet the following qualifications:
- Be a United States citizen
- Be at least 18 years old on or before the next general election (November 4th, 2025)
- Be a resident in the county and polling precinct in which the elector offers to vote
- Not be under a current court order declaring the elector mentally incompetent
- Not be confined in any public prison resulting from a conviction of a crime
- Not have been convicted of a felony or any offense against the election laws, unless the elector has served his entire sentence, including probation and parole time, or has received a pardon
Where to Register to Vote
- Register at the County Voter Registration Board Office. Proof of residency is required.
- Register by mail.
- Register at any of the designated motor voter sites, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Social Services & other state and federal public service agencies.
- Register on the Internet at the following sites:
- S.C. Voter Registration Online or Mail Application - www.scvotes.gov
- National Mail Voter Registration Application - www.eac.gov
- Military & Overseas Citizens Federal Post Card Application - www.fvap.gov
Qualifications to Vote By-Mail Absentee Ballot: These reasons were updated after May 31st, 2022 due to the new Early Voting law.
Any qualified elector who falls into one of the following categories is eligible to receive absentee ballots:
- Persons with employment obligations which prevent them from voting during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
- Persons attending a sick or physically disabled person which prevents them from voting during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
- Persons confined to a jail or pretrial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial which prevents them from voting during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
- Persons who will be absent from their county of residence during early voting hours for the duration of the early voting period, and during the hours the polls are open on election day.
- Persons with physical disabilities.
- Persons sixty-five years of age or older.
- Members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them (Learn more about procedures related to Military and Overseas Citizens).
- Persons admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of the election or within a four-day period before the election (see additional details below)
Any elector wishing to vote by absentee ballot must apply to the County Voter Registration Board. Applications for absentee ballots can be submitted anytime during the calendar year of the election to be held, in which the elector chooses to vote by absentee ballot. The registration board must receive the completed application by 5:00 p.m., eleven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed. For the 2026 General Election, the deadline is October 23rd.
If an elector is admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on the day of election or within a four day period before the election, a member of the immediate family may obtain and complete an application, receive the ballot and deliver it personally to the patient who will vote it. That family member will then personally deliver the ballot back to the County Voter Registration Board. These ballots must be returned before closing of polls on election day.
Immediate family is defined as: Spouse, Parent, Child, Sister, Brother, Grandparents, Grandchildren, Mothers-in-law, Fathers-in-law, Brothers-in-law, Sisters-in-law, Sons-in-law and Daughters-in-law.
The absentee ballot application form may be requested by the voter himself, a member of his/her immediate family or by the authorized representative of voter. The voter or a member of his immediate family may request the application in person, by telephone or by mail. A voter's authorized representative must request an absentee ballot application 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 such a representative.
Authorized representatives are registered electors who, with a voter's permission, act for a voter unable to go to the polls because of illness or disability resulting in his confinement in a hospital, sanitarium, nursing home, or place of residence; or a voter unable because of physical disability to go to his polling place, or because of such disability unable to vote at his polling place due to existing architectural barriers which deny him physical access to the polling place, voting booth or voting apparatus.
A candidate or member of a candidate's paid campaign staff, including volunteers reimbursed for time expended on campaign activity, may not request an absentee ballot application for any person unless the person is a member of their immediate family.
For additional information on absentee balloting or to request an application for absentee ballot, please contact the County Voter Registration Board Office.