South Carolina voters decide federal and state offices in Tuesday's election

AP calls races only when a trailing candidate cannot close the gap

South Carolina voters will elect leaders for federal, state and other offices on Tuesday, with polls closing at 7 p.m. ET, according to an Associated Press election guide by reporter Camille Baker. The AP said it will provide vote results and declare winners in races for U.S. Senate, governor, U.S. House, attorney general, secretary of state, state Senate, state House, agriculture commissioner, Comptroller General, Superintendent of Education and state treasurer.

The guide lays out the data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as votes are tallied, including how many votes recent South Carolina contests drew, how large a share of the ballot is cast before Election Day, when counties release early and mail ballots into the count, and the standard the news service applies before declaring a winner. Those procedures shape the picture South Carolina voters will see as results arrive Tuesday night.

About 1.7 million votes were cast in South Carolina’s 2022 race for U.S. Senate, the state’s last midterm election, the AP said. About 36% of the votes in that contest were cast early or by absentee ballot. The latest advance vote totals for South Carolina are available in the AP’s advance vote tracker, according to the guide.

Counties in South Carolina vary in when and how they release vote results, the guide said. About half of all counties release all or almost all mail voting results in the first vote update, and about half of those counties also release in-person Election Day results at the same time. Almost every county releases at least some early in-person results in the first update.

Recent elections offer a measure of the state’s counting pace. In the 2024 general election, the first South Carolina results were reported starting at 7:19 p.m. ET, 19 minutes after polls closed. The state reached 50% of votes reporting at 8:50 p.m. ET and 90% at 11:14 p.m. ET, the AP said.

The Associated Press does not make projections. It declares a winner only when it determines there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap, according to the guide.

If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory, the guide said. In doing so, the news service makes clear that it has not declared a winner and explains why.

Recounts in South Carolina are automatic if the margin of victory is 1% or less of the total votes cast for the office, according to the guide. The AP may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.