Which SC counties have the highest voter rate during the midterms?

With midterm voter turnout traditionally lower than their presidential counterparts, and primary turnout usually lower, some South Carolina counties struggle to get even 10 percent of their ballot-casters to June polls.

As the June 12 deadline approaches for the South Carolina primary -- where voters will select which candidates will advance to the November ballot -- The State decided to take a look at past voting records to see which Palmetto state counties are the most politically active when it comes to Midterm elections.

In recent years, the percentage of voters statewide participating in primary elections have gone down from previous years, according to a State analysis of voter data for the past five election years publicly available on the South Carolina Election Commission's website. Some counties had as little as 9.8 percent of its voters turnout for a non-presidential primary.

Despite the trend, more voters have registered before the primary this year than in 2014, the last midterm year.

This year, voters will head to the polls to chose which candidates will face off in races for the U.S. House of Representatives, the Governor's mansion, the Statehouse and a litany of local elections.

Here's who's running:

• U.S. House of Representatives
  
  
• Governor and other state-wide offices
  
  
• S.C. House of Representatives
  
  
• Richland and Lexington Counties

Hover over the map and scroll in to see your county.

Here's which counties get out and vote the most during midterm primaries:

• Hampton County

During the last midterm primary cycle, Hampton County boasted the highest voter turnout rate at nearly 39 percent. Out of its 12,633 voters, 4/917 headed to the polls that June, according to voter data.

In 2010, Hampton County had the third highest voter turnout, with 41.1 percent of it's 12,058 voters casting a ballot.

During the 2014 and 2010 general elections, 47.4 percent and 53.33 percent of voters turned out respectively.

• Kershaw County

With a total of 38,567 registered voters before the 2014 primary, Kershaw County ended up with about 31.31 percent voter turnout. 12,074 ballots were cast in the county, making it the second highest turnout in the state.

That was the second year Kershaw County clinched that moniker. In 2010, 41.10 percent of voters made it to Kershaw polls.

During the general elections, 50.67 percent of voters turned out in 2014 and 63.22 percent of voters turned out in 2010.

• Allendale County

About 30.3 percent of Allendale voters cast ballots in the 2014 primary, according to voter data. Of 5,709 voters 1,731 made it to the polls.

Allendale climbed the voter turnout ranks since 2010, when it only had the 14th highest voter turnout at 28.5 percent.

In the 2014 general, 40.57 percent of voters turned out. In 2010, about 47 percent cast votes.

Hover over the map and scroll in to see your county.

Here's which counties have the lowest voter turnout:

• York County

In 2014, less than 10 percent of York County's 14,5120 voters came to the polls during the midterm primary. During the previous midterm primary, 16 percent of voters cast ballots.

In the 2014 general, 39.17 percent of voters made it out, and in the 2010 general, 54.43 percent of York voters participated.

• Lancaster County

With about an 11 percent voter turnout, about 5,438 of Lancaster County's 48,729 voters cast ballots in 2014. In 2010, the county had the lowest primary turnout, with 12.63 percent of voters making it to the polls

About 41.09 percent of registered voters cast ballots in 2014, and 53.35 in 2014.

• Charleston County

Though Charleson County boasted the second highest number of registered voters during 2014, only about 11.4 percent of them cast ballots. Of the 247,208 voters, 28,149 showed at the polls. In 2010, Charleston County voters were considerably more active, with 20.85 percent of them voting.

During the 2014 general, 39.91 percent of voters made it to Charleston County polls, and about 48 percent did in 2010.

And Columbia?

Richland and Lexington Counties tend to have similar voter turnouts.

In 2014, 17.33 percent of Lexington voters headed to the polls, and 16 percent of Richland voters did the same. Four years before, Lexington and Richland Counties had 27.4 and 25 percent voter turnout respectively.

This story was originally published June 2, 2018 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Which SC counties have the highest voter rate during the midterms?."