What Makes Super Tuesday So Super?
by: Stephanie Bolmer

The political primaries are all over the news.  If the presidential election in
November is the Super Bowl, then these are the playoffs.  And those who
like debating the issues are just as excited as the diehard sports fans.  So,
just in case you haven’t taken AP Government and Politics yet, here’s the
lowdown on the primary process:
You may think that when someone walks
into the booth on the day that their state is
having a primary election, they are voting to
elect the candidate they want for their
political party (either Republican or
Democrat). However, what they are often
actually doing is voting for how many
delegates from their state should be sent to
that party’s national convention.  The
conventions are going to be taking place this
summer, and each state will send out
people, or delegates, who have pledged to
vote for whomever won the majority of
delegates in that state.   
It is at these conventions where the candidates are actually officially
selected.  

That’s not to say that our votes in the primaries don’t count, however.  
Because, even though there are some “unpledged” delegates who also get to
attend these conventions, usually, based off of the primary and caucus
votes, the winner of the party’s nomination is pretty clear even before the
convention.  There hasn’t been an upset since 1976.

Depending on your state, your primary may be open or closed.  In an open
primary, any registered voter, even those not registered with one of the
two major parties, may vote for whichever candidate they think will do the
best job, regardless of that candidate’s party.  If the primary is closed,
however, you may only vote if you are registered as Democrat or
Republican, and then you may only choose from candidates in your party.  
Either way, you still only get to pick one person for the job.
Super Tuesday is the biggest day of the election season.  It is always a
Tuesday in February or March of an election year, and it is on this day that
about half of the country’s states hold their primary or caucus.  This year,
there were 24 states, and 52% of all of the Democratic pledged delegates and
41% of all of the Republican pledged delegates were at stake.  Of course,
because these days hold so much power, would-be Commanders-in-Chief
know that they must do well on this day to stay in the race.  Always, a lot of
time, energy, and money is put into trying to win the states which vote on
this day.

Just like in the electoral college that is used for the actual November
presidential election, each state sends a different number of delegates
based on their population, as well as how many votes are cast for each
candidate.  So, this year, on February 5, in the Democratic primary,
Senator Barack Obama won the majority of votes in 13 states as opposed to
Senator Hillary Clinton’s 8 states, but Senator Clinton received more
delegates, because she won larger states.  For the Republicans, Senator
John McCain won the vast majority of delegates, 602, compared to the 152
won by former Governor Mike Huckabee and the 201 by former Governor
Mitt Romney, who has now dropped out of the race.  Though he did not
win any states, Representative Ron Paul won 10 delegates for himself on
February 5.

Super Tuesday may be over, but there are many more primaries and
caucuses ahead, and anything is still possible in this race to the White
House.  Even if you can’t vote yet, you should try to keep yourself - and
your parents - informed.  Because someday you will be able to stand in line
and make your voice heard through the ballot box.
Who will you vote for?