More than half a million South Carolinians voted in person during the first six days of early voting ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, and York County cast 28,464 of those ballots, the fifth highest total among the state’s 46 counties.
Statewide, 501,944 voters checked in at early voting centers from Monday, Oct. 19, through Saturday, Oct. 24, according to the South Carolina Election Commission. York and Lancaster counties together accounted for 41,273 ballots, or 8.2 percent of the statewide total.
Only Greenville (49,790), Charleston (46,898), Richland (43,615) and Horry (41,594) counties reported more early votes than York. Lancaster County ranked 14th with 12,809, finishing just 101 votes behind Florence County and ahead of Pickens County.
Opening Day Was the Busiest
Turnout peaked on the first day. Statewide, 98,695 people voted Monday, Oct. 19, and the daily count declined through Thursday before picking up again Friday. Saturday drew 50,578 voters statewide.
York County followed the same pattern. The county recorded 5,984 voters Monday, its highest single day, then dipped to 4,144 Thursday before rebounding to 4,990 Friday. Saturday brought 3,350 voters, and Saturday made up a larger share of York County’s week (11.8 percent) than it did statewide (10.1 percent).
Lancaster County opened with 2,861 voters Monday and averaged about 2,340 per weekday. Its Saturday count was 1,115.
Rock Hill Site Leads York County
York County operates six early voting centers. The Holiday Inn Rock Hill at Galleria Mall handled the most traffic with 6,530 voters, followed by Carolinas Cornerstone with 5,377 and Imagine Church with 4,663.
The Fort Mill YMCA at The Complex, the county’s early voting site closest to Tega Cay and Fort Mill, checked in 4,429 voters. It had the second busiest Saturday in the county with 597 voters, behind only the Galleria site’s 717. Clinton College’s library in Rock Hill drew 4,187 voters, and the Fire Training Center of York County drew 3,278.
Indian Land Drives Lancaster County Numbers
In Lancaster County, the Del Webb Library was the busiest site with 5,695 voters, more than any other location in the county. The Indian Land Annex added 2,693. Together, the two sites in the county’s fast growing northern panhandle accounted for 8,388 votes, about 65.5 percent of Lancaster County’s total.
The County Voter Registration and Elections Office in Lancaster recorded 3,815 voters, and Kershaw Second Baptist Church recorded 606.
By the Numbers (Oct. 19 through Oct. 24)
South Carolina: 501,944
York County: 28,464 (5th of 46)
Lancaster County: 12,809 (14th of 46)
Busiest York County site: Holiday Inn Rock Hill at Galleria Mall, 6,530
Busiest Lancaster County site: Del Webb Library, 5,695
Early voting continues ahead of the Nov. 3 general election. Voters can find early voting locations, hours and a sample ballot at scvotes.gov.
Source: South Carolina Election Commission early voting totals report, published at scvotes.gov and dated Oct. 25, 2026.
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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 Associate 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.
