Modoc, South Carolina Public Records

South Carolina residents can register to vote online through the South Carolina Election Commission's website at https://www.scvotes.gov/south-carolina-online-voter-registration, by mail using a downloadable registration form, or in person at the Mc Cormick County office or designated locations such as the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens, at least 18 years old by the next election, residents of South Carolina and McCormick County, and not currently serving a sentence for a felony conviction including probation or parole. The state requires registration at least 30 days before an election to be eligible to vote. South Carolina does not require party registration, operating open primaries where voters choose which party's primary to participate in. As an unincorporated community with no municipal government, Modoc has no city council or mayoral elections of its own. Residents vote in McCormick County and state-level contests instead. Local voters participate in elections for McCormick County Council, which consists of seven single-member districts with four-year staggered terms, along with races for Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Auditor, Treasurer, Coroner, Register of Deeds, Probate Judge, and School Board trustees. South Carolina state offices on the ballot include the Governor and Lieutenant Governor as separate offices, U.S. Senators and Representatives, state Senate and House of Representatives, and various statewide constitutional officers including Secretary of State, Attorney General, Comptroller General, Treasurer, Adjutant General, Commissioner of Agriculture, and Superintendent of Education. Residents can find their assigned polling place using the South Carolina Election Commission's polling place locator at https://www.scvotes.gov/south-carolina-polling-places or by contacting the McCormick County Elections Office. South Carolina requires voters to present photo ID at the polls, accepting a South Carolina driver's license, DMV ID card, passport, military ID, or free South Carolina Voter Registration Card with photo available from county election offices. Voters unable to obtain photo ID due to a reasonable impediment may vote by signing an affidavit and providing non-photo identification. In the November 2024 general election, McCormick County reported voter turnout of approximately 62-65% of registered voters, consistent with South Carolina's overall turnout in the presidential election where Donald Trump won the state with approximately 58% of the vote. The county, like most of rural South Carolina, voted heavily Republican. Looking ahead to the November 3, 2026 general election, held the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, Modoc and McCormick County voters will decide several significant races. All four of South Carolina's statewide constitutional officers elected in 2022, including Governor and Lieutenant Governor, serve four-year terms, making 2026 the next gubernatorial election. All 124 seats in the South Carolina House of Representatives will be on the ballot given their two-year terms, as will half of the 46 South Carolina Senate seats under their four-year staggered terms. County offices elected in 2026 will depend on the election cycle for council seats and constitutional officers, some of which are elected in presidential years and others in midterm years. Absentee voting in South Carolina is available for voters who qualify under specific categories: persons 65 years or older, those who will be absent from their county on Election Day, persons with a physical disability, members of the armed forces and their spouses and dependents, persons admitted to hospitals as emergency patients, government employees serving overseas, and certified poll workers and their spouses. Absentee ballot applications must be received by the Mc Cormick County election office by 5:00 p.m. The Friday before the election for in-person absentee voting, or by 5:00 p.m. Four days before Election Day for mail-in ballots. Absentee ballots must be returned by 7:00 p.m. On Election Day. The state does not have no-excuse absentee voting or universal vote-by-mail. Public election records in South Carolina include voter registration lists available for purchase by campaigns and for election related purposes, campaign finance reports filed with the State Ethics Commission searchable at https://apps.sc.gov/PublicReporting, candidate filing information, precinct-level election results, and audit reports. The South Carolina Election Commission publishes detailed election results at https://www.scvotes.gov/election-results, broken down by county and precinct. The county election office maintains precinct results and can provide historical election data upon request. All campaign contributions and expenditures for state and county candidates must be disclosed through the State Ethics Commission's reporting system, providing transparency in election financing.