COLUMBIA - South Carolina's major political parties are stepping up their efforts to push for absentee voting as Election Day nears.
As of 4:45 p.m. Friday, more than 50,000 voters had requested an absentee ballot either by mail or in person, and more than 32,000 absentee ballots had been issued, according to the South Carolina State Election Commission.
That's consistent with the absentee activity this early out during the 2010 General Election, commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said.
Four years ago, more than 153,702 voted absentee - about 11 percent of the total vote.
With voter turnout being historically lower during these midterm elections, both Republicans and Democrats alike are targeting their voters who might have difficulty making it to the voting booths on Nov. 4.
The South Carolina Republican Party, for example, launched the website SCAbsentee.com, which allows for voters to fill out their information to request an absentee ballot.
"We are aggressively seeking absentee votes," said state GOP Chair Matt Moore. "We want turnout of Republicans to be as high as possible."
The decision to push for absentee voting stems from a perceived trend that voters are starting to lean more toward participating in elections before Election Day, Moore said.
Another likely reason is that there's not a lot of enthusiasm surrounding this midterm election in South Carolina, said Kendra Stewart, a political science professor at the College of Charleston.
Neither party can count on heavy voter turnout on Election Day.
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Democrats, GOP encouraging their voters to vote early