South Carolinians will have more time to register to vote because of Hurricane Helene.
Circuit Court Judge Daniel Coble agreed Friday to grant a motion for a temporary injunction and extend the state’s voter registration deadlines by 10 days as many residents still are without power and crews work to clear debris from roads and homes.
Residents now have until Monday, Oct. 14 to register in person, online, fax and email or by mail to vote in the Nov. 5 election.
The emergency hearing request was brought by the South Carolina Democratic Party late Thursday. The party was represented by Charleston attorney Richard Hricik.
"Your honor, this is on behalf of all voters in South Carolina, and to ensure everyone has the right to vote," Hricik said in a virtual hearing Friday morning. "We did not want to ask for a deadline that would unduly burden the state resources or otherwise."
Gov. Henry McMaster, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and S.C. House and Senate leaders were notified ahead of the hearing, the State Election Commission told Coble Friday.
None of the parties voiced opposition to the request or took a position, they said.
South Carolina's extension comes as the state still reels from Helene's aftermath.
At least 41 people have died as a result of the storm, and thousands of people still remain without power. Many roads are still impassable because of debris.
State officials said Thursday that some power systems will have to be totally rebuilt.
At least three groups, which included the ACLU of South Carolina, urged McMaster and Wilson in letters to extend the registration deadlines. (The original deadlines set Friday as the last day to register in person, Sunday to register online, fax or email and Monday to register by mail.)
Extending registration deadlines in South Carolina due to storms has precedent.
The state extended the deadlines in 2016 because of Hurricane Matthew and 2018 because of Hurricane Florence.
"Like voters impacted by Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence, South Carolinians in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene are experiencing hardship, preventing them from registering to vote," the ACLU's letter said in part.
South Carolina's two-week early-voting period starts Monday, Oct. 21 and ends Saturday, Nov. 2. The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot is 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25. Polling places on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The registration extension "should not impact early voting, and we should be able to get out all of the poll books, the e-poll books and the printed registration," attorney Elizabeth Crum, on behalf of the State Election Commission, told Coble.
But, Crum warned, "we would have to start doing it and planning for it, like, immediately in order to accomplish that without any interruption."
The 10-day extension should be enough time, the State Election Commission said.
"Time is of the essence here, and the frame within which anything can be done to implement is shrinking rapidly each day," said Thomas Nicholson, general counsel for the State Election Commission.
This year is a presidential election year. Seven political parties have certified their nominees to appear on the 2024 ballot in South Carolina:
- Randall A. Terry and Stephen E. Broden (Constitution)
- Cornel West and Melina Abdulla (United Citizens)
- Jill Stein and Rudolph Butch Ware (Green)
- Donald J. Trump and JD Vance (Republican)
- Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat (Libertarian)
- Kamala D. Harris and Tim Walz (Democratic)
- Claudia De La Cruz and Karina Garcia (Workers)
Beyond who will hold the Oval Office, South Carolina voters also will decide who represents them in the U.S. House, the state Legislature and a handful of local offices, from sheriff, to coroner and school board.
SC voter registration
There are more than 3.3 million people registered to vote in South Carolina.
Broken down by U.S. House districts, the registered voter totals as of Oct. 4 are:
- District 1: 523,198
- District 2: 484,376
- District 3: 462,669
- District 4: 472,083
- District 5: 484,815
- District 6: 440,983
- District 7: 515,653
SOURCE: SC Election Commission
