The multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock method for continuum wave functions has been used to perform calculations of elastic scattering of electrons from the open-shell sulfur atom at low energies. The electron correlation and polarization of the sulfur atom by the scattered electron, which are very important in this calculation, have been taken into account very accurately {ital ab initio} through the configuration-interaction procedure by optimizing both bound and continuum orbitals simultaneously at each kinetic energy of the scattered electron. The scattering lengths, phase shifts, and differential, total and momentum-transfer cross sections for electrons elastically scattered from sulfur atoms are calculated for the impact-energy range from 0 to 27.2 eV. The wave functions computed exactly at zero energy are used to compute the scattering length. The present results are compared with other available theoretical results. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}