South Carolina primary draws 13% voter turnout, single digits in Horry, Florence counties

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Less than 14% of all eligible South Carolina voters took part in Tuesday’s primary election — with figures dropping into single digits for counties across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee.

Officials expected less participation since this cycle’s primary ballots didn’t include gubernatorial contests and other statewide races like in 2022, when overall voter turnout was 17%.

According to state Election Commission data, 438,711 ballots were cast on Tuesday out of 3.2 million eligible voters.

Here’s how voter turnout looked across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee:

• Darlington County, 18.6%
• Dillon County, 34.2%
• Florence County, 8%
• Georgetown County, 5.3%
• Horry County, 8.4%
• Marion County, 30.2%
• Marlboro County, 26.8%

Early voting in this year’s primary was highest in Horry County, where nearly 23% of all ballots cast — or 5,121 out of 22,080 — happened ahead of in-person participation, according to state election data.

Here’s how early voting turnout looked across the Grand Strand and Pee Dee:

• Darlington County, 29%
• Dillon County, 23%
• Florence County, 24%
• Georgetown County, 33%
• Horry County, 23%
• Marion County, 24%
• Marlboro County, 39%

All results are unofficial until county election boards certify them in the coming days.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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