(Columbia) Feb. 2, 2004 - South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Joe Erwin has dropped an oath requirement for voters hours before the state's first-in-the-South primary on Tuesday.

Erwin says he made the decision because the party was deluged in telephone calls complaining about the requirement that those voting tomorrow sign a statement that read "I consider myself to be a Democrat." Before the ruling change Tuesday, voters who don't sign the pledge would not have been allowed to vote.

The policy could have kept independents and even some Republicans at home.

The oath was meant to keep Republicans from spoiling the Democrat's primary with "any mischief; Republicans who would just vote for a candidate that they don't think can challenge in November. That's mischief-making." It was also, Erwin said, designed to prevent people from illegally voting in two primaries.

Erwin says he didn't want to create confusion with the statement, "The oath, the pledge as it exists, as it is worded, is confusing people. We have been hearing from people literally from all over the state in a lot of numbers. enough to really get my attention. And to make me believe that this oath could be a hinderance to our process." He says the decision was made after discussions with party lawyers in Washington and members of the Democratic National Committee.

Erwin says the pledge has been used by the party in caucuses and primaries since 1976. He earlier explained the oath as not necessarily meaning the voter had to change party affiliations, "The important thing is, it's an open primary. Independents can come and they will, so can Republicans that are not happy with Bush administration policy right now. They can vote too and still vote in primary."

Mary-Alice Brown had some downtime before heading off to her second job. She's 22 and planning to resume her college career next semester and doesn't want to be affiliated with any political party. She is, in other words, an independent, "I really like to base my decisions on honestly, my moral beliefs and things like that so I don't really you know, take anyone's side."

Voters like Brown could play an important role in Tuesday primary, but she wasn't so sure about the oath requirement, "Yes, it definitely would make a difference to me. I don't feel that I should have to say one way or another."

Independent voter Cedric Garner says it's a good idea to scrap the oath, "This is America. Nobody comes to this place you know as a Democrat or Republican."

Some political observers say the oath could have impacted voter turnout. Francis Marion University political scientist Neal Thigpen said some voters, particularly independents unwilling to declare a party even for a day, might stay away.

The Democrats aren't saying yet whether they've sworn off the oath for future party votes.

Democratic party has set up a help line for anyone with questions about voting in Tuesday's primary. Call 1-866-919-2004 to find out more about voting procedures, polling places or to get any other information. Polls open at 7:00am and close at 7:00pm.

Reporting by Megan Hughes & Jack Kuenzie
Updated 6:07pm by BrettWitt with AP