Anyone can vote in the Feb. 3 first-in-the-South Democratic primary, regardless of party affiliation. But you must be registered to vote in Beaufort County -- and for those who have not already registered, it's too late, said Agnes Garvin, director of the Beaufort County Voter Registration Office. Voters must be registered 30 days before an election.

One of three forms of identification is required at the polls: a voter registration card, a South Carolina driver's license or an identification card issued by the S.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

While people must be registered to vote to cast a ballot, they do not necessarily have to bring their voter registration card to the polls because each precinct should have a list of all registered voters in the area, Garvin said.

Local Democratic Party officials, who are responsible for organizing and running the primary election, will open polling sites in all precincts. However, some polling sites have been moved and will be different than the sites voters are used to -- the one printed on their voter registration cards, said Jerry Bernier, president of the Democratic Club South of the Broad.

Ballots will be plain old paper. Voters will be given a pencil to check a box beside one of nine candidates' names.

That's right -- nine.

All of the original hopefuls for the presidential nomination are listed on the ballot, which was printed before Carol Moseley Braun and U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., dropped out of the race. Drop-outs still can receive votes, similar to write-in candidates, Democratic Party officials say.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After polls close, Democratic Party volunteers will tally votes and report them to the county's Voter Registration Office. As results come in, they will be posted on the county's Web site, www.bcgov.net.

Absentee voters who are counting on the postal system to get their ballot in by Feb. 3 should act quickly, because the process can require several back-and-forth mailings. Voters must first fill out an application for an absentee ballot. If voters go to the county's Voter Registration Office in Beaufort or to Hilton Head Island Town Hall, they can receive the ballot the same day. They also can vote that day.

But absentee voters who cannot get to the local offices should call and ask for an absentee ballot application to be mailed to them. After they mail it back, officials will send them the actual ballot, which they must mail or take back to either office by Feb. 3.

The Beaufort County Voter Registration Office can be reached at (866) 851-8683 or on Hilton Head at 341-4625.

Local primary elections are the first of several steps in picking a presidential nominee. After the votes are in, precincts will hold local Democratic Party conventions Feb. 21, where they will select delegates to the county convention, Bernier said. The number of delegates representing each candidate is proportional to the number of votes they received in the precinct.

County delegates then pick delegates for the state convention, scheduled for May 1 in South Carolina. The proportional system continues.

At the state convention, delegates are picked for the national convention, scheduled this year for July 26-29 in Boston, where delegates from all 50 states will select a candidate to represent the Democratic Party in the November general election.