Military & Overseas Citizens

South Carolina will hold a Special Republican Primary for United States Senate on August 11, 2026, with a potential runoff on August 25, 2026. This primary will determine the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in the 2026 General Election following the death of the former nominee, Senator Lindsey Graham.

Only qualified voters who participated in the June 2026 Republican Primary, or who did not vote at all during the June 2026 Primaries, are eligible to submit a ballot in the August 11 Special Republican Primary. Voters who participated in the June 2026 Democratic Primary or Runoff are not eligible.

• If you qualify for UOCAVA voting status but have not registered as a UOCAVA voter, See the dropdown below to find out how to submit your application.
• If you are already a qualified UOCAVA voter, you will receive your absentee ballot by the delivery method currently on file.
• If you selected delivery by mail, we strongly encourage you to contact your county voter registration office and change your ballot delivery method from mail to email due to the compressed timelines for this special primary. Updating your method to email delivery will allow you to receive your ballot sooner and return it faster.
• Regardless of how you receive your ballot, your ballot will include instructions for completing and returning your ballot by mail, email, and fax.  If you receive your ballot by mail, we strongly encourage you to return your ballot electronically.
• Your voted primary ballot must be received by your county voter registration and elections office by the deadlines below:
  • Electronic Delivery: No later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (Election Day)
  • Mail Delivery: Must be mailed no later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 (Election Day) and received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12, 2026.
• Alternatively, you may vote using a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) at any time prior to the election by visiting the Federal Voting Assistance Program at FVAP.gov.  The FWAB is a blank ballot that allows you to write in your vote.  For a list of candidates, check the Candidate Tracking System at scVOTES.gov.  Instructions for returning your FWAB can be found at FVAP.gov.  If you choose to vote using a FWAB, your completed ballot must be received by your county voter registration and elections office by the deadlines above.
• Included with your primary ballot will be an Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) ballot. This ballot allows you to rank the primary candidates and will serve as your vote if there is a runoff on August 25.  Instructions for completing and returning the IRV ballot will be included.
• If you are qualified but do not (or did not) vote in the August 11 Primary, you can still vote in the August 25 Runoff. Options for voting in the Runoff include:
  • Returning the IRV ballot sent to you with your Primary ballot.
  • Requesting your county voter registration office send you a separate Runoff ballot.
• Deadlines for returning Runoff ballots are as follows:
  • Electronic Delivery: No later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 (Election Day)
  • Mail Delivery: Must be mailed no later than 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 (Election Day) and received no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.
• For any questions regarding your voter registration and absentee ballot status, contact your county voter registration office.

• U.S. citizens residing outside the United States
• members of the U.S. Armed Forces
• members of the U.S. Merchant Marine
• persons serving with the American Red Cross or United Service Organization (USO) attached to and serving with the Armed Forces of the U.S. outside the person’s county of residence
• a member or employee of any department of the U.S. Government serving overseas
• an eligible spouse or dependent of an eligible person

• Submit a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA).  This will both register you to vote (if not already registered) and designate you as a UOCAVA voter.
  • The Electronic Voting Accessibility Tool will guide you through the process of completing and submitting your FPCA online.
  • You can also get an FPCA from the Federal Voting Assistance Program website (FVAP.gov) and return it to your county elections office.
  • If you’re using the FPCA to register to vote, it must be submitted by the voter registration deadline to participate in any particular election.
• You can also become a UOCAVA voter by submitting a state absentee application checking one of the qualifying reasons on the application.  If you use the state application, you must first be registered to vote.

• Use EVAT (see above) to check your UOCAVA status.
• Once you submit an absentee application indicating your UOCAVA status, you will remain a UOCAVA voter through December 31 of the following year.
• You can request your UOCAVA status end on any sooner date.
• If you want to remain a UOCAVA voter at the end of the period, you must submit a new FPCA or state application.

• Indicate on your FPCA that email is your preferred method of communication with your county elections office.
• Your county elections office will email your ballot no later than 45 days prior to the day of the election.
• Follow the instructions in the email to access, complete and return your ballot online using the OmniBallot Portal.

OR

• Print, complete, scan and return your voted ballot as an attachment to an email to your county elections office.

• The deadline for any voter to submit a voter registration application is the 30th day prior to any election in which you wish to vote.
• A mailed application must be postmarked by the deadline.
• Emailed or personally delivered applications must be received by the deadline.
• If you’re using an FPCA to register to vote, you must meet the deadline.

• UOCAVA voters can submit an FPCA, FWAB (see below), or state absentee application on any day leading up to, and including, the day of the election in which you wish to vote.
• Be sure to leave yourself time to return the ballot by no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the election (see “What is the deadline to return my ballot?” below).

• As long as your UOCAVA status is in effect, your county election office will send you a ballot through your preferred choice of communication no later than 45 days prior to any election in which you are eligible to vote.
• Indicate on your FPCA your preferred method of communication with your county elections office.
• Your preferred method of communication can be mail or email.
• If you use the Electronic Voting Accessibility Tool (EVAT), you are opting to receive your ballot by email (see “What is the easiest way to vote as a UOCAVA voter?” above).

• Return your ballot by email, mail, fax or return it in person.  Find your county elections office contact information.
• Your county elections office will send specific instructions with your ballot on how it should be returned.

• If you are returning your ballot my email, fax, or personal delivery, your ballot must be returned to the office no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the election.
• If you are returning your ballot by mail, you must mail your ballot no later than 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the election.

•  Check the status of your UOCAVA ballot

•  First, check to see if your ballot was received by the deadline (use link above).  NOTE: If you returned your ballot by mail it will be counted as long as it was received by close of business on the day prior to the certification of results (usually Thursday or Friday on the week of Election Day).
• Second, check here to see if your ballot was challenged for any reason and whether it was counted.

• You can use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) available at FVAP.gov.   The FVAP.gov online assistant will guide you through completing your FWAB.
• The FWAB online assistant will list only federal offices and candidates if available.  The FWAB has no state or local offices or candidates listed on the ballot.  You will need to write in the office and the candidate of your choice.
• If you don’t want to use the FWAB online assistant, print a FWAB here and complete it by hand.
• Find out which offices and candidates are up for election using the Online Sample Ballot.  Online sample ballot is available 100 days prior to any election.  Only offices (no candidates) will be listed initially.  Candidates are usually available around 60 days before an election and no later than 45 days before an election.
• Write the name of the office or ballot question in the blank provided.  Then write the name of your candidate of choice or answer to the question in the blank provided.
• You are not required to vote for all offices in any election.

• • IRV ballots are used only in primaries.
  • All UOCAVA voters receive an IRV ballot with their primary ballot.
  • IRV ballots allow UOCAVA voters to rank the primary candidates and serves as the voter’s ballot in the event of a runoff.
  • The highest ranked candidate of the two remaining will receive the voter’s vote in the runoff.
  • IRV ballots feature only those offices with three or more candidates.  There is no chance for a runoff in offices with only two candidates.
  • A candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote to win a primary.  If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff is held two weeks later between the top two candidates.  Two weeks may not be enough time for UOCAVA voters to receive and return a traditional absentee ballot.  IRV is designed to solve this problem.