The South Carolina Democratic Party had planned to make voters sign a paper stating, "I consider myself to be a Democrat." But the party made a last-minute decision Monday afternoon to remove the oath, saying it could turn off independents and Republicans who intended to vote Democratic this election.

"There's just been too much confusion in terms of what it means," said party spokeswoman Katherine Miller.

The oath was not meant to signify a long-term commitment to the party. Instead, Miller said, it was meant to make voters pledge not to vote in another presidential primary this year. With President Bush running as an incumbent, the South Carolina Republican Party decided not to hold a presidential primary this year.

Before it removed the oath, the state Democratic Party had to get permission from the Democratic National Committee, Miller said. That, she said, is because the committee requires that voters make some form of commitment not to vote in another presidential primary.

The oath "was South Carolina's answer to that rule," Miller said.

State Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin said the oath has been part of the process in South Carolina since 1976. However, the pledge hasn't been used recently because the state party has nominated presidential candidates through caucuses rather than primaries during the past few election cycles.

Voters now will sign an oath simply stating "I am qualified to vote at this election according to the constitution of the state, and I have not voted during this election."

As news of the Democratic oath spread, the party was flooded with calls, Miller said.

Some voters misunderstood the oath as a lifelong pledge to the party, she said. Individual campaigns, meanwhile, worried the oath would keep away the independents and Republicans whom they are trying to attract, Miller said.

Under South Carolina law, presidential primaries are run and paid for by individual political parties.

Nearly 490 volunteers have signed up to work Beaufort County's polls, said Fred Kuhn, chairman of the Beaufort County Democratic Party, which began training workers last month. Most of the volunteers have never worked an election, he said, although the party is requiring at least one experienced worker to be at each poll.

Historically, Kuhn said, about 3 percent of the county's registered voters vote in the Democratic primary. If that trend holds, a little more than 2,000 people will head to the polls today.