York County ranks fifth in state with 28,464 early votes

York County voters cast 28,464 early ballots in the first six days of voting, placing the county fifth among South Carolina's 46 counties ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.

The totals, drawn from a South Carolina Election Commission report dated Oct. 25, cover Monday, Oct. 19, through Saturday, Oct. 24, according to WRHI. Statewide, 501,944 voters checked in at early voting centers during that span. Only Greenville, Charleston, Richland and Horry counties reported more early votes than York.

The Fort Mill YMCA at The Complex, which WRHI described as the county's early voting site closest to Tega Cay and Fort Mill, checked in 4,429 voters. It ranked fourth among York County's six sites.

The Holiday Inn Rock Hill at Galleria Mall led the county with 6,530 voters, followed by Carolinas Cornerstone with 5,377 and Imagine Church with 4,663. Clinton College's library in Rock Hill drew 4,187, and the Fire Training Center of York County drew 3,278.

The Fort Mill YMCA posted the second-busiest Saturday in the county with 597 voters, behind only the Galleria site's 717.

York County's busiest day was Monday, Oct. 19, when 5,984 people voted. The daily count dipped to 4,144 by Thursday, Oct. 22, before rebounding to 4,990 on Friday, Oct. 23. Saturday, Oct. 24, brought 3,350 voters.

Saturday accounted for 11.8 percent of York County's weekly total, compared with 10.1 percent statewide, WRHI reported.

The statewide pattern was similar. Opening day drew 98,695 voters across South Carolina, and the count declined through Thursday before picking up Friday, Oct. 23. Saturday, Oct. 24, drew 50,578 voters statewide.

On opening day, the Fort Mill YMCA site recorded 909 voters, up from 603 who voted on the first day of early voting in 2022 at the Fort Mill Community Center, then known as the Banks Street Gym, the Fort Mill Sun reported.

York County Director of Voter Registration and Elections Alan Helms told the Rock Hill Herald before voting began that he expected early voting participation to match or exceed the June primary, when more than 37 percent of voters statewide cast ballots early. "The voters have taken to early voting," Helms said.

Early voting runs Monday through Saturday until Saturday, Oct. 31. Sites are open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed Sundays under state law. Voters can find locations, hours and a sample ballot at scvotes.gov.