By admin 
With the voter registration deadline for this year’s midterms in early October, South Carolina’s political parties face the challenge of fewer registered voters, as the numbers have dropped in the years leading up to the 2026 elections.
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Those drops disproportionately affected people in minority communities, according to an American for Civil Liberties South Carolina study.
So, as the midterm elections grow closer, the two major political parties have to focus making sure those who support their candidates are signed up to cast a ballot in the Nov. 3 election.
Over the span of three years, about 1.2 million people in South Carolina were removed from voter rolls, according to the ACLU.
When voters have not voted in four years, the Election Commission sends a card to confirm they still live at the address where they’re registered. If a person does not respond or doesn’t vote in a future election, he or she will be removed from the voter rolls.
Overall, 85,000 fewer people were registered to vote in South Carolina in 2025 than in 2022, according to the ACLU analysis. It found that the drop in registration disproportionately affected people from Black and brown communities, who are more likely to support Democratic candidates.
According to the ACLU, Black and brown registered voters in South Carolina fell by 4% between 2022 and 2025, even though the group’s voting age population grew by 6% from 2022 to 2024. Counties with large non-white populations saw larger declines in total registered voters than the state as a whole.
In total, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates South Carolina had 5.5 million people as of 2025, up from 5.1 million in 2020.
“South Carolina is growing, but you wouldn’t know it from the voter rolls. Hundreds of thousands of people got knocked off for missing a postcard or moving across town, and it’s Black and brown communities that are paying the price,” said Jace Woodrum, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina.
The SC Election Commission declined to be interviewed for this story, but said in a statement that voter registration records are “routinely maintained” and a person may be listed as inactive for various reasons, such as death, moving to a new address, requesting cancellation of their registration, a felony conviction, a mental incompetence adjudication or not responding to a confirmation card.
“It is important for voters to understand that even if their record is made inactive due to failure to respond to a confirmation card mailing, their name will continue to be listed on the voter registration list at the polls for the next two general election cycles,” election commission spokeswoman Sydni Bain said in the statement. “Further, if you still reside in your county of registration and are otherwise qualified, your registration will be reactivated simply by voting.”
Efforts to register voters come as the deadline to make sure people can vote in the midterm elections is Oct. 2 to register in person, Oct. 4 to register online, and Oct. 5 to register by mail. As of Sept. 22, 3.4 million people are registered to vote in South Carolina, according to the SC Election Commission.
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South Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Christale Spain said the state Election Commission removes voters from the rolls in a “willy-nilly” fashion.
“Moving people to inactive, kind of willy-nilly, feels wrong,” Spain said.
Still, registering people likely to vote Democratic and making sure those registered but have been inactive has been an initiative for the state Democratic Party.
“We’ve been focused on voter registration for the last few months,” Spain said. “Not only voter registration, (but) making sure that all the inactive voters, the inactive likely Democratic voters, like we’ve been working to get them back active since early this year.”
Spain added the national party has pushed state and county parties to focus on new voter registration, which she said has been an uphill battle. Spain said an effort has been made to reach out to minorities in places where they spend time.
“There are some county parties who use that opportunity to go in and say, ‘Hey, are you registered to vote?’ Because that is a more intimate setting, someplace where they feel comfortable, and we’ll have a conversation,” Spain said.
GOP says law working as intended
SC GOP Chairman Drew McKissick dismissed the concerns brought up by the ACLU. He points out the net difference was only 85,000 voters.
He said the law is working the way it’s intended. Potential voters with information that isn’t up-to-date anymore are identified and they have a chance to confirm or update their information.
“If they can’t get a hold of them, they remove them from the roll,” McKissick said. “A voter roll isn’t supposed to be a scrapbook of everybody who’s ever registered at a specific address. It’s supposed to be an accurate list of all the eligible voters who live there currently. People move every day, and the voter rolls need to reflect that.”
McKissick said the state party works with the Republican National Committee database to make sure that likely Republican voters who have moved into the state or within the state are registered to vote. They receive outreach such as through text messages and postcards to remind them about registering to vote. County parties will also do phone banking to call potential voters.
“That’s what you try to keep county parties focused on is things that are fundamental. It’s basic, like blocking and tackling in football. You gotta get people registered and you gotta get them to turn out and vote. So you can’t do number two if you don’t do number one,” McKissick said.
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