COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — It’s been busy at the polls, as early voting continues across the Midlands and the state — now just 10 days out from Election Day. John Michael Catalano with the SC Election Commission describes statewide turnout as “phenomenal.” “Turnout has been record-breaking. It’s been very high. We’ve already seen over half a million voters cast their ballots before Election Day. And we’re still in the first week of the early voting period. Early voting tends to be busier in the 2nd week, so while we don’t know what they’re exactly gonna look like by the end of the voting period, we easily could pass a million voters by the time we get to Election Day,” says Catalano. Voters have through November 2nd to vote early, with polls open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. between now and then, only closed on Sunday. Catalano says SC doesn’t offer registration by political party so there’s no way of knowing which national or local candidates are ahead until Election Day is over. In the meantime, local leaders of both the SC Democratic and Republican Parties are pushing everyone to get out and vote. “I am even more delighted and more excited about the record breaking numbers we are seeing across South Carolina…We have a unique opportunity in the state of SC to make more pickups locally in the Democratic Statehouse than we have this century. So I’m telling you it is imperative when you go in and cast your ballot for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz that you finish your ballot, that you vote for these leaders,” says Christale Spain, Chair of the SC Democratic Party. “We’re confident Donald Trump is going to carry South Carolina. We want to make sure he carries it by as big of a margin as possible to help those down ballot races. So if you’re thinking about not voting just because you’re confident Donald Trump is gonna win SC, go to the polls, go vote, go early vote, do what you can to help our down ballot Republicans,” says Drew McKissick, Chair of the SC Republican Party. Catalano reminds everyone that when you go to cast your ballot, be sure to take a valid photo ID with you and check SCVotes.gov for your sample ballot and up-to-date voting location. Categories: Local News, News Tags: Christale Spain, Drew McKissick, early voting, John Michael Catalano, SC Election Commission