South Carolina is holding its Democratic primary Saturday. It's the first official contest of the national Democratic Party’s nomination process to choose a nominee for the November general election.

That’s a mouthful. Basically it just means that the national Democratic Party is counting the South Carolina results and that they didn’t count the results from New Hampshire. Why?

Well, for decades, Iowa and New Hampshire held formal primaries and caucuses and allocated delegates. But that changed last year when the national Democratic Party — with President Joe Biden's encouragement — moved its primary calendar around. (Read more about the decision to change the Democratic primary schedule.)

Polls close in South Carolina at 7 p.m. ET, and we'll have live results below from the Associated Press. Republicans will hold their own primary on Saturday, Feb. 24.

(Thumbnail image: A woman voted in Stiles Point Elementary School in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 3, 2024. Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)