Early voting breaks midterm record in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — With one day of early voting to go, South Carolina has already shattered the record for absentee ballots cast in a midterm election.

[RELATED: Record early in-person voting in North Carolina ahead of midterm election]

The South Carolina Election Commission said more than 230,000 votes had already been cast as of Friday evening. That is 46 percent more absentee votes this year than the previous midterm record of 157,000 early votes in 2014.

The numbers are sure to rise this year. There was more early voting Saturday and Monday. Election officials promised updated numbers Monday evening.

The record for most early voters in any election was in November 2016 when more than 500,000 absentee votes were cast.

[RELATED: Voter registration extension sought in flooded South Carolina]

Election Commission numbers show South Carolina has about 10,000.fewer registered voters than 2016. But the 3.1 million voters are 275,000 more than the 2014 midterms.

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Associated Press