Aiken County General Election Information

Citizens will be interested to learn that the number of registered voters in Aiken County has jumped from approximately 81,000 in January of 2008 to 90,000 as of this week. This is an increase of 11 percent.  Obviously there is extraordinary interest in the elections this year and it is vitally important for every qualified citizen to cast his or her vote. If you have any question about your voting precinct or other registration data you can check your personal information at the following link http://www.scvotes.org

If you are not already registered to vote you will not be able to vote in one of the most important elections ever to be held in the United States of America. If you are registered please be certain to vote.

The following release gives full details on who is qualified to be an absentee voter and where and when they can vote.

"Absentee voting for the November 4, 2008, General Election will begin next week. 

There are several key points voters need to be aware of.

1.  SOUTH CAROLINA DOES NOT HAVE EARLY VOTING.  Everyone who votes before election day must have a valid, legal reason to vote.  You must have a reason to cast an absentee ballot.  It is a violation of the South Carolina Code of Laws to fraudulently apply for an absentee ballot.  The list of legal reasons is listed below.

(1) students attending school outside the county of their residence, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;

(2) members of the Armed Forces and Merchant Marines of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;

(3) persons serving with the American Red Cross or with the United Service Organizations (USO) who are attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, their spouses, and dependents residing with them;

(4) persons in employment (who by virtue of their employment are working a shift from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.);

(5) physically disabled persons;

(6) governmental employees, their spouses, and dependents residing with them, who are outside their county of residence from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Election Day);

(7) electors with a death or funeral in the family within a three-day period before the election;

(8) persons on vacation (who by virtue of vacation plans will be absent from their county of residence on election day);

(9) certified poll watchers, poll managers, county voter registration board members and staff, county election commission members and staff working on election day;

(10) overseas citizens;

(11) persons attending sick or physically disabled persons;

(12) persons admitted to hospitals as emergency patients on the day of an election or within a four-day period before the election;

(13) persons who will be serving as jurors in a state or federal court on election day;

(14) persons sixty-five years of age or older;

(15) persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial.

If you do not meet one of these reasons, you CANNOT vote an absentee ballot.  You can only vote at your polling place on November 4.

PLEASE NOTE: The Aiken County Elections Commission has decided that absentee voting can only be done at the Voter Registration and Elections Office, 916 Vaucluse Road, Aiken  
The satellite locations mentioned below will not be open. 

II.  Absentee voting will begin October 13 at the Kalmia Mall, located at 1680 Richland Avenue, West.  The hours will be Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Our standard practice is to offer selected weekend hours: Sunday, October 19, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Saturday, October 25, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Saturday, November 1, 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 

III.  Absentee voting will also be held in North Augusta at the Nancy Carson Library, located at 135 Edgefield Road, from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the following dates:  October 17, October 20, October 23, October 24. 

IV.  Absentee voting will be held in Wagener at the Roy Warner Park, located at 4287 Festival Trail Road, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on October 22."