Voters across York County go to the polls Tuesday in a special Republican primary that will decide who carries the party’s line for U.S. Senate on the November ballot, and county election officials are warning that some voters will not cast ballots where they did in June.
Ten Republicans are running, according to The Associated Press. The field includes two sitting members of Congress, a former governor and the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, who now holds the seat by appointment.
Polls are open until 7 p.m.
Some York County polling places have moved
The Board of Voter Registration and Elections of York County has advised voters that some polling locations have changed. The board said locations are subject to temporary relocation because of availability or unforeseen circumstances, and that signage has been placed at any affected polling place that has been moved.
Voters who are unsure where to go can check their assigned precinct through the state Election Commission at scvotes.gov before heading out Tuesday morning.
Why there is a special primary
Lindsey Graham won the June 9 Republican primary for renomination to the seat he first won in 2002. His death on July 11 from an aortic tear left two vacancies at once, the AP reported. One was the Senate seat itself. The other was his place on the November ballot as the party’s choice for another full term.
Gov. Henry McMaster appointed the senator’s sister, Darline Graham, to serve out the remaining months of the current term. She has President Donald Trump’s endorsement in her bid to become the new Republican nominee, according to the AP.
Among those running against her are U.S. Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, former Gov. Mark Sanford and business owner Mark Lynch, who challenged Lindsey Graham in the June 9 primary.
If no candidate wins a majority Tuesday, the two candidates with the most votes advance to a special primary runoff on Aug. 25. The Republican nominee will face Democrat Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician who ran against U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in the 2022 general election.
What the local numbers say
Norman represents the 5th Congressional District, which takes in York County. He ran for governor earlier this year and finished third in that primary. The AP reported that Norman was the leading candidate in York County and in three smaller neighboring counties inside his district in the June gubernatorial primary, along with Greenville County.
Greenville County is the state’s largest and usually casts the most votes in Republican statewide primaries, the AP reported, and it has shown a willingness to break from the rest of the state. In the June 9 Senate primary, more Greenville County voters backed Lynch than backed Lindsey Graham. Spartanburg County was the only other county where Lynch finished ahead of the incumbent.
Richland and Charleston counties rank next in population but carry more weight in Democratic contests than Republican ones. Horry, Lexington and Spartanburg counties are the other large counties that tend to move Republican primary results, according to the AP.
Lindsey Graham last won reelection in 2020 with 54 percent of the vote. Trump carried South Carolina with 58 percent in the 2024 presidential election.
Who can vote Tuesday
South Carolina voters do not register by party, but participation in one party’s June primary carries a restriction. Anyone who voted in the June 9 Democratic primary cannot vote in Tuesday’s special Republican primary, the AP reported. Voters who cast a Republican ballot in June, and voters who sat out both primaries, are eligible.
Statewide, there were roughly 3.4 million registered voters as of Friday, the AP reported, and about 42,000 ballots had already been cast in the special primary. About 465,000 voters took part in the June 9 Republican Senate primary. Turnout dropped to roughly 319,000 for the June 23 Republican runoff for governor.
Early and mail voting made up about 29 percent of the ballots cast in the June 9 Republican primary.
When results are expected
Nearly all of South Carolina’s 46 counties release all or almost all of their early in person and mail ballots in the first results update of the night, before any Election Day totals appear, according to the AP.
In the June 9 primary, the AP first reported results 22 minutes after polls closed and posted its final update of the night at 12:19 a.m. with more than 99 percent of the vote counted.
The AP does not project winners. It declares a winner only after determining that no path remains for a trailing candidate to catch up, and it continues covering concessions and victory claims in races it has not called while making clear that no winner has been declared.
State law requires an automatic recount when the margin between the winner and the runner up is 1 percent of the total vote or less. The AP may still declare a winner in a race headed to a recount if the lead is large enough that a recount or a legal challenge could not change the result.
If a runoff is required, it will be held Aug. 25. The general election is Nov. 3, 84 days after Tuesday’s special primary.
By ROBERT YOON Associated Press and Thomas Hyslip, Tega Cay Sun
Sources: The Associated Press, Board of Voter Registration and Elections of York County
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
