60 days to go — key dates and reminders as Election Day approaches

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — The race to the White House shortens — as we’re now only 60 days away from finding out who will become the 47th President of the United States.

It’s not only a big year nationally. Here in South Carolina, John Michael Catalano with the SC Election Commission says every state and house seat in the general assembly will be filled by candidates chosen by voters.

“And then there are a lot of county and local offices on the ballot as well. You know, county auditor, county council, and some areas have even more area elections, some city elections, some school board elections, so there are a lot of offices on the ballot,” he says.

To help you prepare, here are some important reminders.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet, you must do so at least 30 days before the election.

Absentee ballots for military members and South Carolinians living overseas will be sent out on September 21st. Domestic absentee ballots will be sent out 30 days before Election Day.

Catalano encourages everyone to consider in-person early voting — which will begin on October 21st and continue through November 2nd.

“And that helps people in lines. That helps election officials disperse the voters throughout a two week period instead of cramming them all in in a 12 hour period,” he says.

If you have doubts or concerns about the election process, Catalano says the Election Commission remains transparent.

“You can really watch just about any part of the election process starting with the preparation of the voting equipment where we do logic and accuracy tests before election day to ensure the system is counting accurately,” he says.

A number of hand-count audits are also required in each county to ensure accuracy and are open to the public.

He also says there are no instances of non-U.S. citizens illegally voting in our state.

“But that doesn’t mean that we are complacent or are not being vigilant,” he says.

Should a non-citizen appear on the voter registration list, that person’s information would be submitted to SLED for investigation.

Whenever you vote, be sure to take a valid photo i.d. with you, and check out your sample ballot beforehand at www.scvotes.gov (click here). 

“It’s the one-stop-shop for voters to find everything they need to be an educated voter as we get into a very busy election season,” says Catalano.