Excerpt from SC Prog Blog:
Brett Bursey
Executive Director, SC Progressive Network
In South Carolina, voters register for life. When a voter dies, the State Bureau of Vital Statistics alerts the SEC, and the person’s name is removed from the list.
The only other ways to be removed is to write the State Election Commission and request that your name be removed, or register to vote in another state, in which case that state may let the SEC know to remove you.
So — other than asking to be removed or registering in another state, South Carolinians remain registered to vote until they die.
The process is this: if you don’t vote in two presidential elections, the SEC mails a notice to your residence advising you to return the letter to remain on the roll of active voters. If you don’t respond, your name gets dropped from the precinct poll books and your name goes on the list of inactive voters kept by the county and state election office. If you show up at your old precinct and they tell you that you aren’t on the list, you tell the poll manager to contact their county office and check the inactive list.You will then be allowed to vote a regular ballot. The precinct poll books have long been cleaned up in this manner to save time signing people in and reduce the cost of printing.