How to watch South Carolina's Democratic primary tonight
On Saturday, South Carolina voters will show up to polling sites to cast votes for their preferred candidate in the fourth Democratic nominating contest for president, just days before Super Tuesday next week.
Voters can choose either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders. The state held its Republican primary last weekend, which Donald Trump won.
- Watch CBSN for coverage of South Carolina's Democratic primary
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST and anyone still in line at 7 p.m. will still be allowed to vote, the state's election commission says. South Carolina has 53 Democratic delegates up for grabs, with an additional six unpledged Superdelegates who are party officials who can commit to whomever they want.
South Carolina operates under an open primary system, which means people can participate in the primary even if they're not registered Democrats. People who already voted in the GOP primary, however, cannot participate.
The primary comes a week after Clinton won Nevada's Democratic caucuses 53 percent to 47 percent, where she performed well among black voters. More than three-quarters of black Democratic voters in Nevada caucused for Clinton, signaling she would also come out strong in South Carolina.
In 2008, 55 percent of South Carolina Democratic primary voters were black and then-Sen. Barack Obama wound up winning that primary. But this time around, polls show Clinton will almost certainly prevail. A CBS News Battleground Tracker Poll released earlier this month showed Clinton with a 19-percentage-point lead ahead of Sanders, 59 percent to 40 percent.
Clinton has also picked up several key endorsements ahead of the primary. Influential South Carolina Democrat Rep. James Clyburn has endorsed the former secretary of state as did a top Hispanic Democrat in Congress, Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, on Friday. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, also expressed support for Clinton this week.
The primary also comes just a day after the State Department released their second-to-last batch of Clinton emails from her private server. The final publication date will be Feb. 29, just one day before Super Tuesday's nominating contests.
Following his win in New Hampshire earlier this month, Sanders told CBS News' Scott Pelley that he had a "strong chance" in Nevada and South Carolina.
Clinton won the Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest at the beginning of February.
→ What: South Carolina's Democratic primary
→ CBSN election coverage begins at 6 p.m. EST
→ Where: Across South Carolina
→ When: Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday
