S.C. Code Ann. § 14-3-10

The Supreme Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and four associate justices, who shall be elected by a joint viva voce vote of the General Assembly for a term of ten years and shall continue in office until their successors are elected and qualified. They shall be so classified that one of them shall go out of office every two years. The successors of the Chief Justice and associate justices shall each be elected at the session of the General Assembly next preceding the expiration of their respective terms. The time for the commencement of their terms of office shall be the first day of August after their election.