Your ballot, explained.

Heard this? Here are the facts

Each claim gets a plain status: True, False, or Promised, not law.

• Heard this? "In South Carolina you can't vote without a photo ID." False
  The facts: You'll be asked for a photo ID (an S.C. driver's license or DMV ID card, an S.C. voter registration card with photo, a federal military ID or a U.S. passport). If something beyond your control kept you from getting one, bring your non-photo voter registration card, sign a form saying why, and vote a provisional ballot. It counts unless the county board has reason to think the form is false. Your county voter office makes free photo voter cards. source: scvotes.gov (SC Election Commission)
• Heard this? "You can still register and vote at the same time during early voting." False
  The facts: Not in South Carolina. The deadlines for November 3 were Friday, Oct. 2 (in person), Sunday, Oct. 4 (online, fax or email) and Monday, Oct. 5 (postmark, by mail). Check that you are registered at scVOTES.gov. source: scvotes.gov (SC Election Commission)
• Heard this? "Anyone can vote by mail in South Carolina." False
  The facts: Absentee voting by mail is only for voters with a reason the law lists, such as being 65 or older, having a physical disability, being out of your county, or a job that keeps you from voting during early voting and Election Day hours. Everyone can vote early in person, Oct. 19 to Oct. 31 (closed Sunday, Oct. 25). source: scvotes.gov (SC Election Commission)
• Heard this? "A mailed absentee ballot counts as long as it's postmarked by Election Day." False
  The facts: Your ballot must reach your county voter registration office by 7 p.m. on Election Day. The Election Commission suggests mailing it at least a week early. Someone 18 or older must witness your signature; no notary is needed. source: scvotes.gov (SC Election Commission)
• Heard this? "If you were ever convicted of a felony, you can never vote again in South Carolina." False
  The facts: You can register again once you have served your entire sentence, including any prison or jail time, probation and parole, or once you have been pardoned. You cannot vote while you are serving any part of that sentence. source: scvotes.gov (SC Election Commission)
• Heard this? "You'll get $5,000 after the election." Promised, not law
  The facts: On Sept. 9, 2026 the President promised every adult $5,000, a "Trump Dividend", if Republicans keep both the House and the Senate. It is a campaign promise that depends on the election results; no law or payment exists today. Congress would have to pass it, and AP estimates it would cost over $1 trillion. Is this legal? Experts disagree. Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, wrote: "No, Mr. President you can't offer voters $5000 if the Republicans win the House and Senate." Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner called it a completed crime under the federal vote-buying law (18 U.S.C. 597). Election attorney John Day told AP it is legal because it would go to everyone regardless of how they vote: "This is a campaign promise." Rice University political scientist Mark Jones: "It's unsavory, but it's legal." Your ballot is secret, so no payment can depend on how you personally vote. source: kold.com source: internazionale.it source: newsweek.com source: ibtimes.co.uk source: katv.com
• Heard this? "Someone can legally pay you to vote, or to vote a certain way." False
  The facts: No. Paying or offering to pay anyone to vote or to register to vote in a federal election is a federal crime (52 U.S.C. 10307(c)). Accepting the payment is a crime too. source: law.cornell.edu
• Heard this? "The $1 million-a-day giveaway in 2024 paid people for voting." False
  The facts: That contest was open only to registered voters in seven swing states, and entering meant signing a petition, not voting. The group's lawyer told a Pennsylvania court the winners were "not chosen by chance". The judge let it continue. source: aljazeera.com

Checked against official sources, court records and news reports. We update this as new claims go around.