It's a Democratic primary, but anyone can vote Tuesday

COLUMBIA - South Carolina voters have the opportunity Tuesday for a major say in who the Democrats choose to run against President Bush.

Seven candidates' names will be on the presidential primary ballot:

• Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark

• Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean

• Sen. John Edwards, N.C.

• Sen. John Kerry, Mass

• U.S. Rep. Dennis Kuchinich, Ohio

• Sen. Joe Lieberman, Conn.

• The Rev. Al Sharpton

Because South Carolina has an open voting system, any registered voter can participate.

Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Democratic Party officials are predicting that about 250,000 of the state's 2.1 million voters will turn out. Voting in every county will be by paper ballot.

Actually, voters won't be casting votes for the candidates themselves, but for slates of convention delegates pledged to support those candidates at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in July. To be nominated, a candidate must receive 2,162 delegate votes out of 4,322. South Carolina will send 45 pledged delegates.

Although S.C. Republicans have been holding presidential primaries since 1980 -- many of them hotly contested and closely watched nationally -- the Democrats have done so only once before, in 1992.

Six other states will also choose Democratic delegates Tuesday: Arizona, Delaware, Missouri, North Dakota, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

But it was South Carolina that attracted the most national attention throughout last year, as candidates began running TV ads and visiting the state more and more frequently.

Because it follows the first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary by only a week, political experts thought that South Carolina would be a crucial state for all the candidates.

Not only is it the first Southern state to vote, but it will be the first contest in a state where African American voters -- the Democratic Party's most loyal constituency -- will participate in significant numbers, perhaps even making up a majority. Relatively few black people live in New Hampshire and Iowa, which held caucuses Jan. 19.

However, the outcomes in Iowa and New Hampshire have altered the playing field dramatically, so that South Carolina -- while still important -- has become only a piece of the puzzle.

Candidates had ceded Missouri to Richard Gephardt since it is his home state. But when he dropped out of the race after a poor showing in Iowa, Missouri, the biggest prize on Tuesday, suddenly was up for grabs. The remaining candidates have shifted their attention accordingly.

Going into the final weekend, the S.C. primary has evolved into a two-candidate shootout between Kerry and Edwards. Edwards has said he needs to win South Carolina or end his quest for the presidency.

Most of the other candidates have fanned out into the other six states, each hoping to find someplace he can finish well enough to keep his campaign alive.

The exception is Dean, the former front-runner. He has decided to skip the states that vote Tuesday and concentrate on upcoming contests in Michigan and Washington state.

Inside

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Where to vote in York, Lancaster and Chester counties . 7Y