1 of 3 | President Joe Biden smiles as he is applauded by Bishop Samuel L. Green Sr. during his address at the Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., on January 8. Biden is one of three candidates who will appear on the ballot for the South Carolina Democratic presidential primary on Saturday. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo
Early voting begins Friday in South Carolina for the Democratic presidential primary, the party’s first of the 2024 election.
South Carolina is the first-in-the-nation primary for Democrats for the first time after the Democratic National Committee shuffled its calendar in 2023. Advertisement
The primary will be held Saturday, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. Republicans will hold their primary in South Carolina on Feb. 24.
There are 55 delegates at stake in South Carolina. President Joe Biden will appear on the ballot alongside Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips and author Marianne Williamson. Delegates will be awarded based on the share of votes received by the candidates.
There are more than 4,000 delegates to be awarded throughout the country. A candidate must earn about 2,000 delegates to become the nominee.
In 2020, 539,263 votes were cast in the Democratic presidential primary in South Carolina. Biden received 262,336 votes, more than 48%.
South Carolina hosts open primaries, meaning voters can participate in either the Democratic or Republican primary. However, they are not allowed to vote in both. Voting in one of the primaries does not impact a voter’s ability to participate in a different party’s state primary that takes place in June. Advertisement
Voters delivered a victory for Biden in New Hampshire last month with a write-in campaign, but Saturday’s primary will be the first to award delegates. The Democratic Party is not seating delegates for the New Hampshire primary because the state broke from the party’s primary schedule.
Officials in New Hampshire are holding out hope that delegates will ultimately be seated, which has happened before when a state and party have had disagreements over the primary schedule.
