If you look at the social media for any of the Democrats running for president, you won’t be hard-pressed to find a post about South Carolina. Many of the candidates have already begun visiting our state, treating it as a priority in their campaigns.

But what makes South Carolina so special? South Carolina is known as a deep red state, meaning few people expect to see it won over by a Democrat. It seems as if Democrats should be directing their efforts towards a swing state such as Florida.

South Carolina is one of four early voting states in the primaries, though this year a Republican primary will not be held. After the South Carolina Democratic primary on February 29, 2020, the next primary for either party is not until March 3.

Early voting is instrumental in reducing the number of candidates, which is even more important considering the size of the Democratic pool for 2020. This Democratic primary is important in narrowing the field because South Carolina is the first primary in which the majority of registered Democrats are African-American. Although the total population of South Carolina is only 27% African-American, 61% of registered South Carolina Democrats who voted in 2016 were African-American. As a result, it is likely that many candidates — particularly the three black candidates currently in the race — will reconsider their presidential runs depending on the outcome of the South Carolina primary.

November 3, 2020, may seem like a long way away, but the election is already ramping up in South Carolina. If you want to volunteer, several of the presidential candidates from both parties already have campaign offices up and running in South Carolina. Many candidates also come to the state for events and rallies, so there are always opportunities to get involved. In addition to volunteering, you can vote in the primary as long as you’ll be 18 on the day of the general election, November 3, 2020. Since South Carolina is an open-primary state, you don’t have to be a registered member of either party to vote in its primary. It is fairly easy to register to vote. You can do so at vote.gov. Mrs. Riley will also register eligible students to vote.