Early voting numbers in South Carolina continue to shatter records, nearing 1.4 million as of Monday

This year's total makes up nearly two-thirds of the voting pool that took part in the 2016 presidential election

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — On the last day of early voting in South Carolina, thousands wrapped around polling places across the state to cast their votes.

The State Election Commission says roughly 1.3 million South Carolinians have already voted (whether by mail or in-person absentee), which comprises roughly a third of the state’s 3.5 million registered voters.

On Monday, some early voters waited up to two hours, but say it was worth the wait, especially during a pandemic.

“There’s probably going to be more people tomorrow, and with COVID and everything, I wanted to make sure there was distance and not as much people around to be healthy and safe,” said Andrea Bocanegra, a student at the University of South Carolina who voted Monday in Richland County.

With record numbers of people voting early, election officials are expecting the lines Tuesday to not be as long as they have been.

Alexandria Stephens, the Director of Richland County’s Board of Elections and Voter Registration, told ABC Columbia that as of Monday afternoon, more than 128,000 voters in the county have already voted. Stephens said that is about roughly 47% of all voters in the county.

“You will probably still see some lines, I don’t think the lines will be as long,” Stephens told ABC Columbia. “I know some voters were preparing to stand in line three to four hours, I don’t think that’ll be the case tomorrow.”

On top of the people casting their votes Tuesday, there are 40,000 voters across the state who haven’t mailed back their absentee ballots. The deadline to submit those ballots is at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, and a voter can physically cast their vote on an unvoted ballot, but only at their county’s voter registration office.

“If you can’t bring in the ballot yourself, have someone else do it for you,” said Chris Whitmire with the State Election Commission. “You can complete the Authorized Returnee Form, and somebody else can take it back for you. That form comes with your ballot.”

Stephens said voters can expect to see more poll workers, hand sanitizer, and social distancing if they line up to vote Tuesday.

They also might see some federal agents. Richland County was selected by the United States Department of Justices as one of 44 jurisdictions where federal agents will visit to make sure there is no voter intimidation.

Stephens said the agents will most likely blend in at the polling places, and that the only thing they will do is call her if there is any voter intimidation or other illegal acts going on.

“I mean the country’s divided right now, so this election is going to be something that lets everybody in the world know that America stands strong, we stand together, and we definitely stand for our right for democracy,” said Karen Jarvis, a Richland County voters.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To find out where your polling place is, click here.