Who can vote in a runoff? What you need to know about SC's extended primary season

Two weeks after S.C. voters made their choice in the Democratic and Republican primary elections, they will go back to the polls Tuesday to vote in runoffs.

Some will cast a ballot for the same candidate a second time. That's because, in any race where no candidate won a majority of the vote, the top two candidates meet in a runoff to decide a party's nominee.

This year, there are two statewide runoffs in the Republican field — for governor and attorney general — plus district-level races for both Republicans and Democrats.

Here's what you should know ahead of Tuesday's runoffs:

▪ Who's still running? Republican voters statewide will decide whether Gov. Henry McMaster or Upstate businessman John Warren will be their party's nominee for governor in November's general election, and between incumbent Attorney General Alan Wilson and state Rep. Todd Atwater for the state's top prosecutor.

Democrats don't have statewide races on Tuesday's ballot. But Democratic voters will choose nominees for the U.S. House in the 2nd, 4th and 7th districts. GOP voters will choose their nominee for the U.S. House in the 4th District to succeed the retiring U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy.

Some voters also will decide state House and local races.

You can find your ballot before you vote at SCVotes.org.

▪ Who can vote? As with the June 12 primary, voters only can vote in one party's primary. If you voted in the Democratic primary, you can't vote in the Republican runoff, or vice versa.

Those who didn't vote in the June 12 primary, however, can vote in either party primary this Tuesday.

▪ Can I still vote absentee? Absentee voting is still an option in the runoffs. As with the first round, any voter who can't make it to the polls Tuesday can cast an absentee ballot.

County election offices will allow in-person absentee voting until 5 p.m. Monday.

Many county offices also will have weekend hours to allow voters to cast ballots. Richland County's election office, for example, will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, and Lexington County will allow voting from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Absentee ballots also can be returned to elections offices by mail as long as they are received by the time the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If you don't have time to mail yours, it can be hand-delivered to the county election office.

▪ Who is voting absentee for the runoff? With fewer options on the ballot for Democrats — some areas of the state have no Democratic runoffs at all — more Republicans than Democrats are seeking absentee ballots for the runoff.

As of Thursday, 14,801 Republican ballots had been issued to 5,752 for Democrats. Two days before the 2010 primary, the last time the GOP had a gubernatorial runoff, 23,984 Republican ballots had been issued.

S.C. Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said GOP absentee totals still could reach a similar level in the final days of the campaign.

Who can vote absentee?

You can vote before election day in South Carolina, if you are:

▪ A member — or spouse or dependent — of the military serving outside your county of residence.

▪ Serving with the American Red Cross or USO attached to the military outside your county of residence — or the spouse or dependent of someone who is.

▪ A U.S. citizen now living overseas.

▪ Physically disabled.

▪ Attending school outside your county of residence — or the spouse or dependent of someone who is.

▪ Unable to vote on election day because of work.

▪ A government employee — or spouse or dependent — serving outside your county of residence on election day.

▪ On vacation on election day.

▪ Serving on a jury on election day.

▪ Admitted to a hospital as an emergency patient on election day or within four days before

▪ Affected by a death or funeral in the family within three days of the election.

▪ Confined to a jail or pretrial facility, prior to conviction.

▪ Attending to someone who is sick or physically disabled.

▪Working as a poll watcher, poll manager or county election official during the election.

▪ At least 65 years old.

This story was originally published June 22, 2018 at 10:21 AM with the headline "Who can vote in a runoff? What you need to know about SC's extended primary season."