SC requires absentee voters to have a witness sign ballots. Who can be a witness?
The short window that allowed South Carolina voters to turn in an absentee ballot without a witness signature is over and, after Wednesday, local county elections offices cannot accept absentee mail-in ballots that don’t have a witness signature on the back.
After a multiple-month, back-and-forth court battle to determine if voters would need a witness signature on their ballot return envelopes, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday reinstating the witness signature requirement.
Ballots already received by county election officials without a witness signature were accepted through Wednesday.
Ballots without a witness signature now will not be counted, officials said.
So, who can be a witness?
Anyone.
According to the official rule, the mail-in ballot “shall be signed by the absentee ballot applicant and witnessed,” and it does not state limitations on who can be a witness.
A witness can include a family member, neighbor, friend, caregiver or mail person, York County elections office spokesperson Beth Covington told The Herald.
There are no residency, age, or registered voter status requirements to be a witness, Covington said.
The state’s witness signature rule, which was not enforced in the June primaries, calls for the witness to record their address, in addition to their signature, on the mail-in envelope. The signature does not need to be notarized.
Despite the witness signature requirement, there is no rule on who can vote absentee by-mail or in-person this election due to a bill passed in September, which gives all South Carolina voters the option to vote absentee because of COVID-19.
There’s also in-person absentee voting.
In-person absentee voting began this week.
South Carolinians can vote in-person now at their local county voter registration office.
At the office, voters will be required to fill out an application before casting their ballot. A photo ID is required to vote absentee in person. South Carolinians can vote absentee in person until 5 p.m. Nov. 2.
Beginning next week, the York County office, which is at 6 South Congress St. in York, will have two extension offices open for absentee in-person voting.
- The Fort Mill extension office will open Oct. 12 at the Fort Mill Community Center, 1011 Talbot St.
- The Rock Hill extension office will open Oct. 14 at the Rock Hill Operations Office, 757 South Anderson Road.
In Lancaster County, the office is at 101 North Main Street in Lancaster.
- The Indian Land Service Center, at 8451 Charlotte Highway, will be open from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2 for residents to drop completed absentee ballots.
The Chester County office is at 109 Ella Street in Chester.
These offices will be open for in-person absentee voting between Oct. 5 and Nov. 2. Absentee by-mail ballots must be returned to the county voter registration office by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
This story was originally published October 8, 2020 at 1:37 PM with the headline "SC requires absentee voters to have a witness sign ballots. Who can be a witness?."
