Dozens of Benedict College students were allowed to vote Tuesday after a confrontation at a polling place there, and voting didn’t end until about 10 p.m.

GOP monitors challenged students who held S.C. voter registration cards, but did not have driver’s licenses or state-issued identification cards. Democratic poll monitors alleged the challenge was intended to intimidate students from voting.

Katon Dawson, state Republican Party chairman, defended the challenges, saying state law requires more than a student ID to vote.

“It’s just unfortunate that it seemed to have gotten completely out of hand and out of control,” he said. He said one poll monitor was threatened by a student voter.

Columbia city Councilman E.W. Cromartie, a Democratic poll monitor, said he encouraged students to stay and vote despite the challenges. Someone from the neighborhood brought food for voters waiting in line.

“It reinforced the fact you still have to fight to make sure democracy is the way it is supposed to be,” Cromartie said.

The precinct went overwhelmingly for Democrats, with John Kerry winning 1,078 votes to President Bush’s 22, and Inez Tenenbaum winning by 989 to 40 over Sen.-elect Jim Demint.

Dawson said the party is considering legal challenges in several precincts across the state, including Ward 8.

— John C. Drake